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Female - Dictionary Definition and Overview |
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Female : adj
1: being the sex (of plant or animal) that produces
fertilizable gametes (ova) from which offspring
develop; "a female heir"; "female holly trees bear the
berries" [ant: androgynous, male]
2: characteristic of or peculiar to a woman; "female
sensitiveness"; "female suffrage" [syn: distaff]
3: for or composed of women or girls; "the female lead in the
play"; "a female chorus"
(noun)
1: an animal that produces gametes (ova) that can be fertilized
by male gametes (spermatozoa) [ant: male]
2: a person who belongs to the sex that can have babies [syn: female
person] [ant: male]
Based on WordNet 2.0
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Female : \Fe"male\, n. [OE. femel, femal, F. femelle, fr. L.
femella, dim. of femina woman. See Feminine.]
1. An individual of the sex which conceives and brings forth
young, or (in a wider sense) which has an ovary and
produces ova.
The male and female of each living thing. --Drayton.
2. (Bot.) A plant which produces only that kind of
reproductive organs which are capable of developing into
fruit after impregnation or fertilization; a pistillate
plant.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
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Female : \Fe"male\, a.
1. Belonging to the sex which conceives and gives birth to
young, or (in a wider sense) which produces ova; not male.
As patient as the female dove When that her golden
couplets are disclosed. --Shak.
2. Belonging to an individual of the female sex;
characteristic of woman; feminine; as, female tenderness.
``Female usurpation.'b8 --Milton.
To the generous decision of a female mind, we owe
the discovery of America. --Belknap.
3. (Bot.) Having pistils and no stamens; pistillate; or, in
cryptogamous plants, capable of receiving fertilization.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
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Female : Female: The traditional definition of female was "an individual of the sex that bears young" or "that produces ova or eggs". However, things are not so simple today.
Female can be defined by physical appearance, by chromosome constitution (see Female chromosome complement), or by gender identification. Female chromosome complement: The large majority of females
have a 46, XX chromosome complement (46 chromosomes including two X chromosomes). A minority of females have other chromosome constitutions such as 45,X (45 chromosomes including only one X chromosome)
and 47,XXX (47 chromosomes including three X chromosomes).
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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