♀

See also: 우 [U+C6B0 HANGUL SYLLABLE U] and ☥ [U+2625 ANKH]

♀ U+2640, ♀ FEMALE SIGN ← ☿ [U+263F] Miscellaneous Symbols ♁ → [U+2641]

Translingual

Etymology

A (copper/bronze) handmirror, symbol of the Greek goddess Aphrodite (and her Roman equivalent Venus). The cross was added in the 16th century to Christianize the symbol of a pagan god.

Symbol

♀︎

Use of ♀ for Friday, on the left side of the calendar dial of this 13th-century clock tower.

1. (biology) female.
   • 1961 August 17, New Scientist, volume 11, number 248 (in English), Reed Business Information, →ISSN, page 413:

     In his Mantissa Plantarum (1767) and Mantissa Plantarum altera (1771), [Linnaeus] regularly used ♂, ♀ and ☿ for male, female and hermaphrodite flowers respectively.

   • 1990, Charles S. Churcher, “Cranial Appendages of Giraffoidea”, George A. Bubenik, Anthony B. Bubenik, Horns, Pronghorns, and Antlers: Evolution, Morphology, Physiology, and Social Significance, New York: Springer-Verlag, →ISBN, chapter 1.5, page 183:

     Figure 2. Ossicones, secondary ossification, and sinuses of Giraffa: A Lateral aspect of skull showing courses of veins, areas of dense ossification (heavily stippled) and lesser secondary ossification (lightly stippled), and outlines of skull roofs of male (♂) and female (♀) adults. (After Spinage 1968b.)

   • 2015 July 6, Andy Burns, “Re: C4 last leg”, in uk.tech.broadcast‎^[1] (Usenet; in English):

     I was quite surprised that a few of my friends found the male ♂ (mars) and female ♀ (venus) symbols on toilets in pubs/bars confusing ...

2. (botany, of a flower) pistillate, carpellate.
3. (astronomy, astrology) Venus.
4. (alchemy, archaic) copper.
5. (rare) Friday.

   Refers to the Latin phrase dies Veneris, which literally means "Venus's day".

Presentations of ♀︎

Text style	Emoji style
♀︎	♀️
Note: Character's appearance may be different on each system. Text style is forced with ︎ and emoji style with ️

Antonyms

• (biology): ♂

Derived terms

• (alchemy): 🜠 (copper ore)

🜡 (copper-and-iron ore)

🜢 (sublimate of copper)

🜣 (crocus of copper)

🜥 (copper antimoniate)

• (gender): ⚢ (lesbian)

⚤ (heterosexual)

• (botany): ♀-♂ (monoecious)

♀:♂ (dioecious)

Gallery

• 
  Late Classical and Medieval forms of the astronomical symbol
• 
  Classical form of the symbol, ⚲
• 
  A decorative variant in the Netherlands
• 
  As a symbol for copper
• 
  An abstract variant
• 
  Symbol on a pale-copper background
• 
  Transit of Venus

• 
  1901 cover for Japanese literary magazine Myōjō
• 
  1995 UN conference on women
• 
  Feminism/woman-power symbol
• 
  ... on a flag

Related terms

Gender and sexuality symbols
· · · · · · · · · · ·

See also

• Gender symbol on Wikipedia.Wikipedia