feminine
1. fem.i.nine \'fem-*-n*n\ \-n*(n)-n*s\ aj [ME, fr. MF feminin, fr. L
femininus, fr. femina woman; akin]to OE delu nipple, L filius son, felix,
fetus, & fecundus fruitful, felare to suck, Gk the-le- nipple 1: FEMALE 2:
characteristic of or appropriate or peculiar to women 3: of, relating to,
or constituting the gender that ordinarily includes mo st words or
grammatical forms referring to females 4a: having an unstressed and usu.
hypermetric final syllable {~ en ding} of rhyme 4b: occurring in the last
metrically stressed syllable and a final light s yllable (as in motion,
ocean) 4c: having the final chord occurring on a weak beat {music in ~ ca
dences}EMINATE, LADYLIKE: FEMININE applies to qualities or attitudes
characteristic of women and not shared by men; FEMALE stresses the fact of
sex; used otherwise than scientifically or statistically it has a
contemptuous or patronizing suggestion; WOMANLY suggests qualities esp.
associated with the ideal wife or mother; WOMANLIKE suggests faults and
foibles thought typical of women; WOMANISH implies weakness and
emotionalism and is used chiefly in reference to a man; EFFEMINATE
emphasizes the softer or more delicate aspects of a woman's attitudes and
behavior and applies chiefly to men, implying a lack of virility or
masculinity; LADYLIKE suggests decorous propriety or, in reference to boys
and men, may impute primness, daintiness, or lack of expected masculine
force and strength - fem.i.nine.ly av SYN syn FEMALE, WOMANLY, WOMANLIKE,
WOMANISH, EFF
2. feminine n 1: the female principle {eternal ~} 2a: a noun, pronoun,
adjective, or inflectional form or class of the femini ne gender 2b: the
feminine gender