Feminine Meaning
/ˈfɛmɪnɪn/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjOf or pertaining to the female gender.
adjOf or pertaining to the female sex; biologically female, not male.
Sentence Examples
Susie wasn't very feminine.
Ellie is very feminine.
She has a feminine insight into human behavior.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Her ____ handwriting with loops and curves impressed the calligraphy teacher.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She has a very ____ style of dressing, often wearing soft colors and delicate floral patterns.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)-der. Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-m̥h₁n-éh₂ Proto-Italic *θēmanā Proto-Italic *fēmanā Latin fēmina Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Indo-European *-iHnos Proto-Italic *-īnos Latin -īnus Latin fēminīnusder. Old French femininbor. Middle English femynyne English feminine From Middle English feminine, femynyne, femynyn, from Old French feminin, feminine, from Latin fēminīnus, from fēmina (“woman”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-m̥h₁n-eh₂ (“(the one) nursing, breastfeeding”). Related to fetus, feminism, filial, fellatio.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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 as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
"Her letters are remarkably deficient in feminine ease and grace."
— 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:
"Ninias being esteemed no man of warre at all, but altogether feminine, and subject to ease and delicacy."
— 1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., Walter Raleigh], The Historie of the World […], London: […] William Stansby for Walter Burre, […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=1 to 5):
"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:
"They guide the feminines toward the Pallace."
— 1589, Richard Hakluyt, The Principall Navigations, Voiages, and Discoveries of the English Nation, […], London: […] George Bishop and Ralph Newberie, deputies to Christopher Barker, […], →OCLC:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Her ____ handwriting with loops and curves impressed the calligraphy teacher.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She has a very ____ style of dressing, often wearing soft colors and delicate floral patterns.