female

Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to: navigation, search
Wikipedia-logo.png
 Female on Wikipedia

Wikipedia

Contents

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old French femele, from Medieval Latin femella (a female), from Latin femella (a young female, a girl), diminutive of femina (a woman). The English spelling was remodelled under the influence of male, which is not etymologically related. Compare man and woman.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

female (not comparable)

  1. Belonging or referring to the sex which is generally characterized as the one associated with the larger gametes (for species which have two sexes and for which this distinction can be made), which in humans and many other species is the sex which produces eggs and which has XX chromosomes.
  2. (figuratively, electronics) Having an internal socket, as in a connector or pipe fitting.

Synonyms[edit]

Coordinate terms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Noun[edit]

female (plural females)

  1. Someone or something of feminine sex or gender.
  2. botany A plant which produces only that kind of reproductive organ capable of developing into fruit after impregnation or fertilization; a pistillate plant.

Synonyms[edit]

Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]