FEM'ININE, a. L. femininus, from femina, woman. The first syllable may be and probably is from wemb or womb, by the use of f for w the b not being radical. The last part of the word is probably from man, quasi, femman, womb-man.
1. Pertaining to a woman, or to women, or to females as the female sex.
2. soft tender delicate.
Her heavenly form angelic, but more soft and feminine.
3. Effeminate destitute of manly qualities.
4. In grammar, denoting the gender or words which signify females, or the terminations of such words. words are said to be of the feminine gender, when they denote females, or have the terminations proper to express females in any given language. Thus in L. dominus, a lord, is masculine but domina, is mistress, a female.
Milton uses feminine as a noun, for female.
The King James Bible has stood its ground for nearly 400 years. However, during that time the English language has changed, and with it the meanings of some words it used. Here are more than 6,500 words whose definitions have changed since 1611.Wikipedia
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