feminine

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈfɛmənɪn/ UK /ˈfɛmɪnɪn/ See IPA manual

adj noun

Meanings

1

adj
having qualities traditionally associated with women

The dress had a soft, feminine silhouette.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · having qualities... womanlyladylikewomanlikesoft delicate

Opposites

masculine manly virile male

Word family

Forms unfeminine

Derived forms femininelyfemininenessfemininity

Related forms femalefeminismfeministfeminizeeffeminate

Etymology

From Old French feminin, from Latin femininus, from femina ('woman'), itself from a Proto-Indo-European root *dheh1- ('to suckle, nurse').

femininus Latin femina Latin *dʰeh₁- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

# feminine

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj, noun
**IPA (US):** ˈfɛmənɪn
**IPA (UK):** ˈfɛmɪnɪn

## Meanings
1. having qualities traditionally associated with women

## Examples
- The dress had a soft, feminine silhouette.

## Synonyms
- womanly
- ladylike
- womanlike
- soft
- delicate

## Antonyms
- masculine
- manly
- virile
- male

## Derived Forms
- femininely
- feminineness
- femininity

## Related Forms
- female
- feminism
- feminist
- feminize
- effeminate

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: femininus
- Root: femina
- Root: *dʰeh₁-

## Etymology
From Old French feminin, from Latin femininus, from femina ('woman'), itself from a Proto-Indo-European root *dheh1- ('to suckle, nurse').

## AI Etymology
Feminine is from Old French feminin, from Latin femininus, from femina ('woman'), itself from a Proto-Indo-European root *dheh1- ('to suckle, nurse'). Important recorded forms include femininus (Latin), femina (Latin), and *dʰeh₁- (Proto-Indo-European). The current sense covers having qualities traditionally associated with women. The wider family includes derived forms such as femininely, feminineness, and femininity and related words such as female, feminism, feminist, and feminize.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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feminine

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