different between womanly vs womanish

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

Etymology

From Middle English wommanyssh. Equivalent to woman +? -ish.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?w?m?n??/

Adjective

womanish (comparative more womanish, superlative most womanish)

1. (often derogatory) Characteristic of a woman; feminine; effeminate. [from 14th c.]
   • 1946, Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, I.20:

     Friends are a comfort in misfortune, but one should not make them unhappy by seeking their sympathy, as is done by women and womanish men.

   • 1982, Lawrence Durrell, Constance, Faber & Faber 2004 (Avignon Quintet), p. 753:

     Perhaps he did too, for he turned scarlet and turned his face away to the wall, with a womanish gesture of shyness.

2. Carried out by or pertaining to a woman. [from 14th c.]
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.7:

     And gan recomfort her in her rude wyse, / With womanish compassion of her plaint, / Wiping the teares from her suffused eyes [...].

Related terms

• womanly

Translations

See also

• girlish
• ladyish