female
English meaning: Female
Definition
One of the female (feminine) sex or gender.
Example
“The female of the species is noticeably larger than the male.”
Another example: “More than half of the new students were female.”
Usage — When, Where & How
A neutral noun and adjective denoting the sex that can bear offspring. Used in biology, demographics, and forms ('male or female'). As a noun for people it can sound clinical or detached, so 'woman' is often preferred in social contexts.
Etymology & Origin
English — Origin & History
From Old French 'femelle', from Latin 'femella', diminutive of 'femina' ('woman'); the spelling shifted by association with 'male'.
Synonyms
- feminine
- distaff
- pistillate
- female person
Antonyms / Opposites
- male
- masculine
Related Words
Common Collocations
- female sex
- young female
- female population
- female employee
- male and female
Word Forms
female (n/adj); females (pl)
Word Tools
Literary Heritage
“To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”
/To thine own self be true/
“Be honest with yourself — and as naturally as night follows day, you will be unable to be false to others.”
“I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too?”
/I'm nobody! Who are you?/
“I am nobody — and that quiet anonymity is more honest than the noise of public fame.”
Images
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Language information
- Language
- English
- English
- Script
- Latin
- Family
- Indo-European
- Speakers
- 1.5B