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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

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.
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The male and female of each living thing. --Drayton.
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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.
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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.
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As patient as the female dove
When that her golden couplets are disclosed. --Shak.
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2. Belonging to an individual of the female sex;
characteristic of woman; feminine; as, female tenderness.
"Female usurpation." --Milton.
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To the generous decision of a female mind, we owe
the discovery of America. --Belknap.
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3. (Bot.) Having pistils and no stamens; pistillate; or, in
cryptogamous plants, capable of receiving fertilization.
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{Female rhymes} (Pros.), double rhymes, or rhymes (called in
French feminine rhymes because they end in e weak, or
feminine) in which two syllables, an accented and an
unaccented one, correspond at the end of each line.
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Note: A rhyme, in which the final syllables only agree
(strain, complain) is called a male rhyme; one in which
the two final syllables of each verse agree, the last
being short (motion, ocean), is called female. --Brande
& C.

{Female screw}, the spiral-threaded cavity into which
another, or male, screw turns. --Nicholson.

{Female fern} (Bot.), a common species of fern with large
decompound fronds ({Asplenium Filixf[ae]mina}), growing in
many countries; lady fern.
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Note: The names male fern and female fern were anciently
given to two common ferns; but it is now understood
that neither has any sexual character.

Syn: {Female}, {Feminine}.

Usage: We apply female to the sex or individual, as opposed
to male; also, to the distinctive belongings of women;
as, female dress, female form, female character, etc.;
feminine, to things appropriate to, or affected by,
women; as, feminine studies, employments,
accomplishments, etc. "Female applies to sex rather
than gender, and is a physiological rather than a
grammatical term. Feminine applies to gender rather
than sex, and is grammatical rather than
physiological." --Latham.
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