Edit page | Page history | Printable version

Masculine

1. Of the male sex; not female. Thy masculine children, that is to say, thy sons. (Chaucer)

2. Having the qualities of a man; suitable to, or characteristic of, a man; virile; not feminine or effeminate; strong; robust. That lady, after her husbands death, held the reins with a masculine energy. (Hallam)

3. Belonging to males; appropriated to, or used by, males. A masculine church.

4. Having the inflections of, or construed with, words pertaining especially to male beings, as distinguished from feminine and neuter. See gender. Masculinely, Masculineness.

Origin: L. Masculinus, fr. Masculus male, manly, dim. Of mas a male: cf. F. Masculin. See male masculine.