womanhood

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the state or period of being an adult woman

   The memoir follows her passage from adolescence into womanhood.

2. 2
   noun

   women considered collectively

   The speech appealed to the dignity and rights of womanhood.

From Middle English womanhede and womanhod, compounds of woman + -hood. The suffix denotes a state or condition and also supports the collective sense "women as a class."

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