fœminine

Adjective

feminine (comparative more feminine, superlative most feminine)

1. Of or pertaining to the female gender.
2. Of or pertaining to the female sex; biologically female, not male.

   Synonyms:

   female, womanly

3. Belonging to females; typically used by females.
   • Mary, Elizabeth, and Edith are feminine names.
4. Having the qualities stereotypically associated with women: nurturing, not aggressive, sensual; womanly.
   • Her heavenly form Angelic, but more soft and feminine.1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...

   Antonyms:

   masculine, manly

5. Being of the feminine class or grammatical gender, and inflected in that manner.

   Synonyms:

   female

6. Being inflected in agreement with a feminine noun.
   • Women's names were formed in the same way as men's, but with feminine terminations […]1945, E[lizabeth] G[idley] Withycombe, “Introduction”, in The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page xiii

   Synonyms:

   female

See all 12 meanings of feminine