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Female
Definitions
- 1 Belonging to the sex which typically produces eggs (ova), or to the gender which is typically associated with it. not-comparable, usually
"female authors, the leading male and female artists, a female bird cooing at a male"
- 2 Characteristic of this sex/gender. (Compare feminine, womanly.) not-comparable, usually
"stereotypically female pastimes, an insect with typically female coloration"
- 3 Tending to lead to or regulate the development of sexual characteristics typical of this sex. not-comparable, usually
"the female chromosome"
- 4 Feminine; of the feminine grammatical gender. feminine, form-of, not-comparable, usually
"The teacher's voice inflects the pulse of nêhiyawêwin as he teaches us. He says a prayer in the first class. Nouns, we learn, have a gender. In French, nouns are male or female, but in Cree, nouns are living or non-living, animate or inanimate."
- 5 Lacking the F factor, and able to receive DNA from another bacterium which does have this factor (a male). not-comparable, usually
"In this process, one bacterium designated the male bacterium transfers its DNA into the female bacterium. Bacteria are determined to be male or female by a small piece of DNA, called F-plasmid, or sex factor. Bacteria with this small piece of DNA are labeled as males, and bacteria that do not have this factor are considered females."
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- 6 Having an internal socket, as in a connector or pipe fitting. figuratively, not-comparable, usually
"A ground-joint union is made in three separate pieces and is used for joining two pipes. It consists of two machined pieces with female pipe threads, which are screwed on the pipes to be united, and a threaded collar which holds the two pieces of the union together."
- 1 being the sex (of plant or animal) that produces fertilizable gametes (ova) from which offspring develop wordnet
- 2 for or pertaining to or composed of women or girls wordnet
- 3 characteristic of or peculiar to a woman wordnet
- 1 One of the female (feminine) sex or gender.; An animal of the sex that produces eggs.
"Accumulated data indicate that in all species of sharks, the females grow larger than the males."
- 2 an animal that produces gametes (ova) that can be fertilized by male gametes (spermatozoa) wordnet
- 3 One of the female (feminine) sex or gender.; A human of feminine gender; a girl or woman. proscribed, sometimes
"It would be years sometimes ere he saw the face of a female, and when he did, that face would not be overangelic."
- 4 a person who belongs to the sex that can have babies wordnet
- 5 One of the female (feminine) sex or gender.; A plant which produces only that kind of reproductive organ capable of developing into fruit after impregnation or fertilization; a pistillate plant.
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- 6 A bacterium which lacks the F factor, and is able to receive DNA from another bacterium which has that factor.
"During mating, F+ male bacteria transfer the F factor to the recipient females, transforming them into F+ males."
- 7 A female connector, pipe fitting, etc.
"These are the most common type, as they join females of the same diameter together. […] For example, you may need an adapter such as a 3-in. pipe thread (a common thread used to join pipes) female to 2 1⁄2 NH male."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Italic *fēmanā Latin fēmina Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Italic *-elos Latin -lus Latin fēmella Old French femelebor. Middle English femele Middle English female English female From Middle English female, an alteration of Middle English femele, from Old French femele, femelle (“female”), from Medieval Latin fēmella (“a female”), from Latin fēmella (“a girl, a young female, a young woman”), diminutive of fēmina (“a woman”). The English spelling and pronunciation were remodelled under the influence of male, which is otherwise not etymologically related. Contrast woman, which is etymologically built on man (as in, “person”).
Etymology tree Proto-Italic *fēmanā Latin fēmina Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Italic *-elos Latin -lus Latin fēmella Old French femelebor. Middle English femele Middle English female English female From Middle English female, an alteration of Middle English femele, from Old French femele, femelle (“female”), from Medieval Latin fēmella (“a female”), from Latin fēmella (“a girl, a young female, a young woman”), diminutive of fēmina (“a woman”). The English spelling and pronunciation were remodelled under the influence of male, which is otherwise not etymologically related. Contrast woman, which is etymologically built on man (as in, “person”).
See also for "female"
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Unscramble this word: female