I. ˈfe-mə-nən 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 thēlē 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 -nə(n)-nəs noun
II. noun
Date: 15th century
1.
a. : a noun, pronoun, adjective, or inflectional form or class of the feminine gender
b. : the feminine gender
2. : the embodiment or conception of a timeless or idealized feminine nature
the eternal feminine