See Also: unthriving(dictionary)

female (iou) and unthriving (iou)


female (iou)



female adjective & noun. ME.
[Old & mod. French femelle from Latin femella dim. of femina woman. The present form is due to assoc. with male.]
A. adjective.
1. Of, pertaining to, or designating the sex which can bear offspring or produce eggs; in organisms which undergo sexual reproduction, designating, pertaining to, or producing gametes (ova) that can be fertilized by male gametes. ME.
female child, female dog, female ostrich, female salmon, etc.
b. Of a plant, flower, etc.: bearing pistils but lacking stamens; fruit-bearing. L18.
2. Of a plant, mineral, or Other object: having a colour or Other property associated with femaleness, esp. as being inferior to a corresponding male property etc. Now rare exc. in certain collocations (see below). LME.
3. Composed or consisting of women or girls or of female animals or plants. M16.
Milton That fair femal Troop..that seemd of Goddesses.
4. Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of, women or girls or female animals. Formerly also, effeminate; weak. L16.
G. Greene It lacks the female touch. A man's den. A. S. Byatt She began to feel very female, an attendant servant-cum-girl-friend, his woman.
5. Of a mechanical instrument etc.: hollowed or moulded in order to receive a corresponding or male part. M17.
B. noun.
1. A female person, animal, or plant; (the member(s) of) the female sex. ME.
F. Marryat The stag..was..acting as a sentinel for the females. H. G. Wells The female of the species..by the age of fifteen has a clearer sense of reality in these things than most men have to the doddering end of their days.
2. A woman or girl as distinguished from a man or boy; gen. (now only derog. or joc.) a woman, a girl. ME.
Special collocations & comb.: female circumcision incision or removal of some of the genitals of a girl or woman (sometimes including infibulation). female CONDOM. female fern = lady-fern s.v. LADY noun. female hemp (obsolete exc. Hist.) = fimble hemp s.v. FIMBLE noun. female impersonator a male performer dressed and acting as a woman. female rhyme a feminine rhyme (see FEMININE adjective 3b). female screw: see SCREW noun1 1.
femalely adverb (rare) M19.
femaleness noun the quality of being female L19.
femality noun female Nature or characteristics M17.
femalize verb (a) verb intrans. become effeminate; (b) verb trans. give a feminine ending to (a word): L17.

unthriving (iou)



unthriving adjective. ME.
[from UN-1 + thriving pres. pple of THRIVE verb.]
Not doing well; lacking merit or excellence; unworthy. Only in ME.
Not thriving or growing vigorously; not prospering or flourishing. E17.
Leading to no gain or profit; unprofitable. Long rare or obsolete. E17.