Male Meaning
/meɪl/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjBelonging to the sex which typically produces sperm, or to the gender which is typically associated with it.
adjCharacteristic of this sex/gender. (Compare masculine, manly.)
Sentence Examples
The male ape is intelligent by nature.
The smirking male clerk replied.
The male of the species has a white tail.
CEFR Practice Quiz
In lions, the ____ sex is the only one that grows a full mane.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ lion has a large and impressive mane that distinguishes it from the smaller female of the species.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Latin mās Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Indo-European *-elós Proto-Italic *-elos Proto-Italic *-kelos Latin -culus Latin masculus Vulgar Latin masclus Old French maslebor. Middle English male English male From Middle English male, borrowed from Old French malle, masle (Modern French mâle), from Latin masculus (“masculine, a male”), diminutive of mās (“male, masculine”). Doublet of macho. Displaced native Old English wǣpned (“male”, literally “weaponed”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"We got the hang of [caring for a baby], Kate and I, with some quiet, surprising guidance from a gentle male nurse whose touching lack of intrusion was so instinctive as to seem part of the pattern."
— 1995, Gill Van Hasselt, Childbirth: Your Choices for Managing Pain, Taylor Pub, →ISBN:
"Whereas many other trans male vloggers use the videos to assert a conventionally recognizable masculinity through sculpting and carrying their bodies as well as dressing and talking in masculine-coded ways, Carson explores and plays with ways of expressing femininity within (trans) maleness."
— 2016, Tobias Raun, Out Online, →ISBN:
"A bright light was shone in her eye and then she heard a kind, male voice who she figured must be Dr. Smith. “Yes, let her rest now, but keep an eye on her blood pressure and her pulse. Check her about every 15 or 20 minutes. Call me if any problem occurs.”"
— 2006, Bonnie Roberts, Bruises on the Heart, →ISBN, page 118:
"More than that, we cannot find the same dynamics within female career trajectories as in the other two country groups, because the time-structure of female and male careers already shows great similarity within the older generation of elites. In addition, the pattern of the relation between female and male careers remains the same over time."
— 2004, Mino Vianello, Gwen Moore, Women and Men in Political and Business Elites: A Comparative Study, →ISBN:
"The teacher's voice inflects the pulse of nêhiyawêwin as he teaches us. He says a prayer in the first class. Nouns, we learn, have a gender. In French, nouns are male or female, but in Cree, nouns are living or non-living, animate or inanimate."
— 2012, Naomi McIlwraith, Kiyâm: Poems, →ISBN, page 43:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
In lions, the ____ sex is the only one that grows a full mane.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ lion has a large and impressive mane that distinguishes it from the smaller female of the species.