female
UK: ˈfiːmeɪl | US: ˈfiːmeɪl
n. an individual of the sex that can bear offspring or produce eggs
adj. relating to or characteristic of women or female animals
The word "female" originates from Old French femelle, derived from Latin femella, a diminutive of femina (woman). The spelling was later influenced by the unrelated word "male" (from Latin masculus), creating the modern form "female." The morpheme fem- preserves the core meaning of "woman," while -ale functions as a noun-forming suffix. This evolution reflects a linguistic blending of gender distinctions in English vocabulary.
The study focused on female participants aged 25–40.
The female lion hunts more often than the male.
She was the first female CEO of the company.
The survey compared male and female perspectives.
Female birds often have less colorful plumage than males.