I. ˈmas-kyə-lən adjective
Etymology: Middle English masculin, from Latin masculinus, from masculus, noun, male, diminutive of mas male
Date: 14th century
1.
a. : male
b. : having qualities appropriate to or usually associated with a man
2. : of, relating to, or constituting the gender that ordinarily includes most words or grammatical forms referring to males
masculine nouns
3.
a. : having or occurring in a stressed final syllable
masculine rhyme
b. : having the final chord occurring on a strong beat
masculine cadence
• mas·cu·line·ly adverb
• mas·cu·lin·i·ty ˌmas-kyə-ˈli-nə-tē noun
II. noun
Date: 14th century
1. : the masculine gender
2. : a noun, pronoun, adjective, or inflectional form or class of the masculine gender
3. : a male person