masculine
pronunciation
How to pronounce masculine in British English:
UK [ˈmæskjəlɪn]
How to pronounce masculine in American English:
US [ˈmæskjəlɪn]
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- Noun:
- a gender that refers chiefly (but not exclusively) to males or to objects classified as male
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- Adjective:
- of grammatical gender
- associated with men and not with women
- (music or poetry) ending on an accented beat or syllable
Word Origin
- masculine
- masculine: see male
- masculine (adj.)
- mid-14c., "belonging to the male grammatical gender;" late 14c., "of men, male," from Old French masculin "of the male sex" (12c.), from Latin masculinus "male, of masculine gender," from masculus "male, masculine; worthy of a man," diminutive of mas (genitive maris) "male person, male," of unknown origin. Meaning "having the appropriate qualities of the male sex, manly, virile, powerful" is first attested 1620s. As a noun from mid-15c.
Antonym
Example
- 1. I was keen to develop so-called masculine skills .
- 2. Depending on whether the word is masculine , feminine or plural .
- 3. Previous research shows that feminine women and masculine men make the healthiest mates .
- 4. Before the participants judged the photographs for attractiveness , the members of the research team rated the images for how seductive , confident , thin , sensitive , stylish , curvaceous ( women ) , muscular ( men ) , traditional , masculine / feminine , classy , well-groomed , or upbeat the people looked .
- 5. They fear and despise the masculine .