different between womanly vs feminine

English

Alternative forms

• womonly, womynly (rare feminist spellings; see usage notes at woman)

Etymology

From Middle English womanly, wommanly, wommanlich, wummonlich, wommanlych, equivalent to woman +? -ly.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?w?m?nli/
• Hyphenation: wom?an?ly

Adjective

womanly (comparative womanlier, superlative womanliest)

1. Considered typical of, stereotypical of, or appropriate to women; feminine.
2. (rare) Female.

Antonyms

• masculine, male, manly

Derived terms

• womanliness

Translations

Adverb

womanly (comparative more womanly, superlative most womanly)

1. In the manner of a woman.

Middle English

Adjective

womanly

1. Alternative form of wommanly

English

Alternative forms

• f., f (abbreviation, grammar)
• fœminine (hypercorrect, obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English feminine, femynyne, femynyn, from Old French feminin, feminine, from Latin f?min?nus, from f?mina (“woman”), from Proto-Indo-European *d?eh?-m?h?n-eh? (“(the one) nursing, breastfeeding”). Related to fetus, feminism, filial, fellatio.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?f?m?n?n/, /?f?m?n?n/

Adjective

feminine (comparative more feminine, superlative most feminine)

1. Of or pertaining to the female gender; womanly.
2. Of or pertaining to the female sex; biologically female, not male.
3. Belonging to females; typically used by females.

4. Having the qualities stereotypically associated with women: nurturing, not aggressive.

   • Her heavenly form Angelic, but more soft and feminine.

   • Her letters are remarkably deficient in feminine ease and grace.

   • Ninias being esteemed no man of warre at all, but altogether feminine, and subject to ease and delicacy.

5. (grammar) Of, pertaining or belonging to the female grammatical gender, in languages that have gender distinctions.

Synonyms

• (of the female sex): female, womanly
• (having qualities stereotypical of the female gender): caring, ladylike, nurturing

Antonyms

• (of the female sex): male, manly
• (having qualities stereotypical of the female gender): butch, masculine
• (grammar): masculine, neuter

Derived terms

• femininely
• feminineness
• feminine rhyme (prosody)
• femininity
• feminize

Translations

Noun

feminine (plural feminines)

1. That which is feminine.
2. (rare, possibly obsolete) A woman.
   • Richard Hakluyt:

     They guide the feminines toward the palace.

3. (grammar) The feminine gender.
4. (grammar) A word of the feminine gender.
   • Latham:

     There are but few true feminines in English.

Translations

German

Adjective

feminine

1. inflection of feminin:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Latin

Etymology 1

From f?min?nus (“feminine”) +? -?.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /fe?.mi?ni?.ne?/, [fe?m??ni?ne?]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /fe.mi?ni.ne/, [f?mi?ni?n?]

Adverb

f?min?n? (comparative f?min?nius, superlative f?min?nissim?)

1. femininely, womanly

Related terms

Etymology 2

Inflected form of f?min?nus (“feminine”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /fe?.mi?ni?.ne/, [fe?m??ni?n?]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /fe.mi?ni.ne/, [f?mi?ni?n?]

Adjective

f?min?ne

1. vocative masculine singular of f?min?nus

References

• feminine in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• feminine in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette

Norwegian Bokmål

Adjective

feminine

1. definite singular of feminin
2. plural of feminin

Norwegian Nynorsk

Adjective

feminine

1. definite singular of feminin
2. plural of feminin

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /femi?nine/

Adjective

feminine

1. feminine plural nominative of feminin
2. feminine plural accusative of feminin
3. neuter plural nominative of feminin
4. neuter plural accusative of feminin

Swedish

Adjective

feminine

1. absolute definite natural masculine form of feminin.