fair sex

English

Alternative forms

• the fairer sex

Pronunciation

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Noun

the fair sex

1. (idiomatic, dated, now sometimes offensive) Women collectively.
   • 1728, Daniel Defoe, chapter 8, in Military Memoirs of Capt. George Carleton:

     The younger Gentry, or Dons, to express their Gallantry, carry about them Egg-shells, fill'd with Orange or other sweet Water, which they cast at Ladies in their Coaches, or such other of the fair Sex as they happen to meet in the Streets.

   • 1820, [Walter Scott], chapter 23, in The Abbot. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne & Co.] for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and for Archibald Constable and Company, and John Ballantyne, […], →OCLC:

     "Permit me rather to perform my duty in attending them," said Roland, anxious to show he was possessed of the high tone of deference prescribed by the rules of chivalry towards the fair sex, and especially to dames and maidens of quality.

   • 1881, Bayard Taylor, The Lake Regions of Central Africa, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, page 147:

     Our entrance was attended with the usual ceremony, now familiar to the reader: the warmen danced, shot, and shouted, a rabble of adults, youths and boys crowded upon us, the fair sex lulliloo'd with vigor[.]

   • 1904 December, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of the Second Stain”, in The Return of Sherlock Holmes, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co., published February 1905, →OCLC:

     “Now, Watson, the fair sex is your department,” said Holmes, with a smile, when the dwindling frou-frou of skirts had ended in the slam of the front door.

   • 1913–1921, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “The Blind Man”, in England My England and Other Stories, New York, N.Y.: Thomas Seltzer, published 24 October 1922, →OCLC, page 89:

     And he had his friends among the fair sex—not lovers, friends.

Usage notes

• In contemporary usage, this term may be regarded by some as patronizing toward women, though it was not originally intended thus.

Translations

women

• Armenian: գեղեցիկ սեռ (geġecʻik seṙ)
• Bashkir: гүзәл зат (güzəl zat)
• Bulgarian: жените (bg) f pl (ženite)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 女性 (zh) (nǚxìng) (neutral), 婦道人家／妇道人家 (zh) (fùdao rénjia) (derogatory)

• Czech: slabé pohlaví n, něžné pohlaví n, ženy (cs) f pl
• Danish: det smukke køn n
• Dutch: het schone geslacht n, het zwakke geslacht n
• Finnish: kauniimpi sukupuoli
• French: beau sexe (fr) m, gent féminine (fr) f, sexe faible (fr) m
• German: schönes Geschlecht n, schwaches Geschlecht n
• Greek: ασθενές φύλο (el) n (asthenés fýlo), αδύνατο φύλο n (adýnato fýlo), ωραίο φύλο n (oraío fýlo), αδύναμο φύλο n (adýnamo fýlo)
• Hebrew: ^{(please verify)} המין היפה (hmyn hyph)
• Hungarian: gyengébb nem
• Irish: an cineál baineann m, an cineál banda m
• Italian: gentil sesso m, sesso debole m
• Japanese: フェアセックス (fea sekkusu)
• Kannada: ಮಹಿಳಾವರ್ಗ (kn) (mahiḷāvarga), ಸ್ತ್ರೀಜಾತಿ (kn) (strījāti)
• Korean: 여성 (ko) (yeoseong)
• Macedonian: нежен пол (nežen pol)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: det smukke kjønn n

• Polish: płeć piękna (pl) f, słaba płeć (pl) f
• Portuguese: sexo frágil (pt) m
• Romanian: sexul frumos (ro) n
• Russian: прекра́сный пол (ru) m (prekrásnyj pol), сла́бый пол (ru) m (slábyj pol), не́жный пол (ru) m (néžnyj pol)
• Spanish: sexo débil m, bello sexo m
• Swedish: det täcka könet (sv) n, det svaga könet n
• Tamil: பெண்டிர் (ta) (peṇṭir), பெண்கள் (ta) (peṇkaḷ), மாதர் (ta) (mātar), மகளிர் (ta) (makaḷir)
• Turkish: dişiler (tr) pl, kadınlar (tr) pl

See also

• weaker sex
• weaker vessel