Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
noun
The state or quality of being a woman; the features of a woman's nature; femininity, womanhood.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, literary, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: femaleness, femineity, womanishness, womanliness, womanness
Antonyms: masculinity, manhood, manliness, mannishness, virility
noun
The state of attainment of womanhood following maidenhood.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, literary, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
The state of puberty in a female.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: medicine, physiology, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
the trait of behaving in ways considered typical for women
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: femininity
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: trait
Narrower terms: womanliness, womanlike, ladylikeness, maidenliness, girlishness, effeminacy, effeminateness, sissiness, softness, womanishness, unmanliness
noun
the state of being an adult woman
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: womanhood
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: adulthood
History
From Late Latin muliebritās (“womanhood; womanliness”), from Latin muliēbris (“feminine, womanly”) + -tās (suffix forming nouns indicating a state of being); or from muliēbris + -ity; compare Middle French muliebrité. Muliēbris is derived from mulier (“woman; wife”) (from mollior (“softer; milder; weaker”), comparative form of mollis (“soft; mild, tender; weak”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mel- (“soft; tender; weak”)) + -brīs (noun suffix denoting a person).
Across languages
2 source translations are retained for this English entry.
