femme
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also fem
Contents |
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Used in Middle English, from Old French fame et al. The modern spelling is under the influence of Middle and Modern French femme.
Pronunciation[edit]
- IPA: /fɛm/
Noun[edit]
femme (plural femmes)
- (archaic, rare) A woman, a wife, particularly in heraldry.
- 1885, Richard Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Night 18:
- Then I turned to him and said, "O my lord, I have that to propose to thee wherein thou must not cross me; and this it is that, when we reach Baghdad, my native city, I offer thee my life as thy handmaiden in holy matrimony, and thou shalt be to me baron and I will be femme to thee."
- 1885, Richard Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Night 18:
- (slang, LGBT) A feminine lesbian, especially one who is attracted to masculine (butch) lesbians.
French[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Latin femina. Various spellings such as feme, fame and fenme were used in Old French.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
femme f (plural femmes)
Synonyms[edit]
Antonyms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Middle French[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Latin femina. Various spellings such as feme, fame and fenme were used in Old French.
Noun[edit]
femme f (plural femmes)
Synonyms[edit]
- (woman): dame
Descendants[edit]
- French: femme
Old French[edit]
Noun[edit]
femme f (oblique plural femmes, nominative singular femme, nominative plural femmes)
- woman (female adult human being)
Categories:
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English archaic terms
- English terms with rare senses
- English slang
- en:LGBT
- French terms derived from Latin
- French nouns
- French feminine nouns
- Middle French terms derived from Latin
- Middle French nouns
- Old French nouns
- Old French feminine nouns