feminine
    adj 1: associated with women and not with men; "feminine
           intuition" [ant: masculine]
    2: of grammatical gender [ant: masculine, neuter]
    3: befitting or characteristic of a woman especially a mature
       woman; "womanly virtues of gentleness and compassion" [syn:
       womanly, feminine] [ant: unwomanly]
    4: (music or poetry) ending on an unaccented beat or syllable;
       "a feminine ending"
    n 1: a gender that refers chiefly (but not exclusively) to
         females or to objects classified as female

Feminine \Fem"i*nine\, n.
   1. A woman. [Obs. or Colloq.]
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            They guide the feminines toward the palace.
                                                  --Hakluyt.
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   2. (Gram.) Any one of those words which are the appellations
      of females, or which have the terminations usually found
      in such words; as, actress, songstress, abbess, executrix.
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            There are but few true feminines in English.
                                                  --Latham.
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Feminine \Fem"i*nine\, a. [L. femininus, fr. femina woman; prob.
   akin to L. fetus, or to Gr. qh^sqai to suck, qh^sai to
   suckle, Skr. dh[=a] to suck; cf. AS. f[=ae]mme woman, maid:
   cf. F. f['e]minin. See Fetus.]
   1. Of or pertaining to a woman, or to women; characteristic
      of a woman; womanish; womanly.
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            Her letters are remarkably deficient in feminine
            ease and grace.                       --Macaulay.
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   2. Having the qualities of a woman; becoming or appropriate
      to the female sex; as, in a good sense, modest, graceful,
      affectionate, confiding; or, in a bad sense, weak,
      nerveless, timid, pleasure-loving, effeminate.
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            Her heavenly form
            Angelic, but more soft and feminine.  --Milton.
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            Ninus being esteemed no man of war at all, but
            altogether feminine, and subject to ease and
            delicacy.                             --Sir W.
                                                  Raleigh.
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   Feminine rhyme. (Pros.) See Female rhyme, under Female,
      a.

   Syn: See Female, a.
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