n.
Pronunciation: ' fe-m ə -n ə n
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French feminin, from Latin femininus, from femina woman; akin to Old English delu nipple, Latin filius son, felix, fetus, & fecundus fruitful, felare to suck, Greek th ē l ē nipple
Date: 14th century
1 : FEMALE 1A(1)
2 : characteristic of or appropriate or unique to women < feminine beauty> <a feminine perspective>
3 : of, relating to, or constituting the gender that ordinarily includes most words or grammatical forms referring to females <a feminine noun>
4 a : being an unstressed and usually hypermetric final syllable <a feminine ending> b of rhyme : having an unstressed final syllable c : having the final chord occurring on a weak beat <music in feminine cadences>
– fem · i · nine · ly adverb
– fem · i · nine · ness \ -n ə (n)-n ə s \ noun