LadyAngelika
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quote:
Well, that’s the official definition of feminine
Not quite. That is one definition of the word feminine, the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (2003) definition.
There are various definitions and it's such a loaded word that people are likely to define it in very different ways, such as these. I've highlighted a few statements in them to form three general types of categories of statements in definitions.
Red - Types of statements that simply identify a polarity between the two genders, a relatively objective classification that doesn't attempt to define (or pigeonhole) what a woman is.
Blue -Types of statements that argue that feminine qualities are not only attributed to women but to objects or people that display the traits attributed to women.
Pink - Types of statements that attach a qualification, a judgement, an opinion on what a woman is.
quote:
Websters 1828 Dictionary
Feminine 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.
WordNet (r) 3.0
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
Oxford English Reference Dictionary
feminine
adj. & n.
--adj.
1 of or characteristic of women.
2 having qualities associated with women.
3 womanly, effeminate.
4 Gram. of or denoting the gender proper to women's names.
--n. Gram. a feminine gender or word.
Derivatives:
femininely adv. feminineness n. femininity n.
Etymology: ME f. OF feminin -ine or L femininus f. femina woman
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary
feminine
1. Feminine qualities and things relate to or are considered typical of women, in contrast to men. ...male leaders worrying about their women abandoning traditional feminine roles. ...a manufactured ideal of feminine beauty. = female ≠ masculine ADJ: usu ADJ n
2. Someone or something that is feminine has qualities that are considered typical of women, especially being pretty or gentle. I've always been attracted to very feminine, delicate women... The bedroom has a light, feminine look. ≠ masculine ADJ [approval]
3. In some languages, a feminine noun, pronoun, or adjective has a different form from a masculine or neuter one, or behaves in a different way. ADJ
English Explanatory Dictionary
feminine ˈfemɪnɪn adj. & n. --adj. 1 of or characteristic of women. 2 having qualities associated with women. 3 womanly, effeminate. 4 Gram. of or denoting the gender proper to women's names. --n. Gram. a feminine gender or word. øøfemininely adv. feminineness n. femininity n. [ME f. OF feminin -ine or L femininus f. femina woman]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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. Her letters are remarkably deficient in feminine ease and grace. --Macaulay.
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. Her heavenly form Angelic, but more soft and feminine. --Milton. Ninus being esteemed no man of war at all, but altogether feminine, and subject to ease and delicacy. --Sir W. Raleigh.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Feminine Fem"i*nine, n.
1. A woman. [Obs. or Colloq.] They guide the feminines toward the palace. --Hakluyt.
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. There are but few true feminines in English. --Latham.
Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms
feminine a. 1. Soft, tender, delicate, female. See womanly. 2. Effeminate, unmanly, weak.
English Explanatory Dictionary (Synonyms)
feminine ˈfemɪnɪn adj. 1 female, womanlike, womanly, ladylike, submissive, deferential, amenable, gentle, docile, tender, soft, delicate: She is much more feminine than her sister. 2 effeminate, womanish, unmanly, unmasculine, sissy or Brit cissy, sissified or Brit cissified, effete, affected: Barry's manner and behaviour seem to become more feminine every day.
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
37 Moby Thesaurus words for "feminine": affected, amenable, animate, common gender, deferential, delicate, distaff, docile, effeminate, effete, female, gender, gentle, gentlewomanlike, girlish, gynecic, gynecoid, gynic, inanimate, kittenish, ladylike, little-girlish, maidenly, masculine, matronal, matronlike, matronly, muliebral, neuter, petticoat, soft, submissive, tender, unmanly, womanish, womanlike, womanly
The red statements are relatively objective as they don't try to define what a woman is where as the pink statements impose a definition on women.
If a woman doesn't display the stereotypical qualities described in the pink statements but firmly identifies as a woman, can she still be feminine? If by defining herself by the red statements, yes.
Can a woman display some of the qualities pink statements and then be display qualities that are in exact contradiction of them and still be feminine? Is there a degree if feminity?
Can someone other than a woman display femininity? Are the blue statements a contradiction with the red statements?
But more importantly, who on earth came up with the qualities in the pink statements and how antiquated are these? Should we attempt to re-appropriate such a definition or should we let it be and come up with an alternative qualifier for ourselves?
Great topic CarrieO. Quite an interesting conversation can be driven from it actually.
- LA
_____________________________
Une main de fer dans un gant de velours ~ An iron hand in a velvet glove
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How do you define feminine? - 
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