feminine

• POS: Adjective
• HYPHEN: fem=i=nine

CIDE DICTIONARY

feminine, a. [L. femininus, fr. femina woman; prob. akin to L. fetus, or to Gr. qh^sqai to suck, qh^sai to suckle, Skr. dhā to suck; cf. AS. f\'d6mme woman, maid: cf. F. féminin. See Fetus.].

•  Of or pertaining to a woman, or to women; characteristic of a woman; womanish; womanly.  [1913 Webster]

  "Her letters are remarkably deficient in feminine ease and grace."  [1913 Webster]
•  Having the qualities of a woman; becoming or appropriate to the female sex; as, in a good sense, modest, graceful, affectionate, confiding; or, in a bad sense, weak, nerveless, timid, pleasure-loving, effeminate.  [1913 Webster]

  "Her heavenly form
  Angelic, but more soft and feminine."  [1913 Webster]

  "Ninus being esteemed no man of war at all, but altogether feminine, and subject to ease and delicacy."  [1913 Webster]

Feminine rhyme. (Pros.) See Female rhyme, under Female, a.

Syn. -- See Female, a.

feminine, n. 

•  A woman.  [1913 Webster]

  "They guide the feminines toward the palace."  [1913 Webster]
•  Any one of those words which are the appellations of females, or which have the terminations usually found in such words; as, actress, songstress, abbess, executrix.  [1913 Webster]

  "There are but few true feminines in English."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

feminine, adj. & n.
--adj.
1 of or characteristic of women.
2 having qualities associated with women.
3 womanly, effeminate.
4 Gram. of or denoting the gender proper to women's names.
--n. Gram. a feminine gender or word.

Derivative

femininely adv. feminineness n. femininity n.

Etymology

ME f. OF feminin -ine or L femininus f. femina woman

THESAURUS

feminine

affected, amenable, animate, common gender, deferential, delicate, distaff, docile, effeminate, effete, female, gender, gentle, gentlewomanlike, girlish, gynecic, gynecoid, gynic, inanimate, kittenish, ladylike, little-girlish, maidenly, masculine, matronal, matronlike, matronly, muliebral, neuter, petticoat, soft, submissive, tender, unmanly, womanish, womanlike, womanly

ROGET THESAURUS

feminine

Woman

N woman, she, her, female, petticoat, feminality, muliebrity, womanhood, womankind, the sex, the fair, fair sex, softer sex, weaker vessel, dame, madam, madame, mistress, Mrs, lady, donna belle, matron, dowager, goody, gammer, Frau, frow, Vrouw, rani, good woman, good wife, squaw, wife, matronage, matronhood, bachelor girl, new woman, feminist, suffragette, suffragist, nymph, wench, grisette, girl, sissy, betty, cot betty, cotquean, henhussy, mollycoddle, muff, old woman, hen, bitch, sow, doe, roe, mare, she goat, Nanny goat, tabita, ewe, cow, lioness, tigress, vixen, gynecaeum, estrogen, oestrogen, consanguinity &c, paternity, lesbian, dyke, female, she-, feminine, womanly, ladylike, matronly, maidenly, wifely, womanish, effeminate, unmanly, gynecic, gynaecic, Pron, she, her, hers, ', a perfect woman nobly planned, a lovely lady garmented in white, das Ewig-Weibliche zieht uns hinan, earth's noblest thing, a woman perfected, es de vidrio la mujer, she moves a goddess and she looks a queen, the beauty of a lovely woman is like music, varium et mutabile semper femina, woman is the lesser man.