EFFEMINATING

Verb

effeminating

present participle of effeminate

Source: Wiktionary


EFFEMINATE

Ef*fem"i*nate, a. Etym: [L. effeminatus, p. p. of effeminare to make a woman of; ex out + femina a woman. See Feminine, a.]

1. Having some characteristic of a woman, as delicacy, luxuriousness, etc.; soft or delicate to an unmanly degree; womanish; weak. The king, by his voluptuous life and mean marriage, became effeminate, and less sensible of honor. Bacon. An effeminate and unmanly foppery. Bp. Hurd.

2. Womanlike; womanly; tender; -- in a good sense. Gentle, kind, effeminate remorse. Shak.

Note: Effeminate and womanish are generally used in a reproachful sense; feminine and womanly, applied to women, are epithets of propriety or commendation.

Ef*fem"i*nate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Effeminated; p. pr. & vb. n. Effeminating.]

Definition: To make womanish; to make soft and delicate; to weaken. It will not corrupt or effeminate children's minds. Locke.

Ef*fem"i*nate, v. i.

Definition: To grow womanish or weak. In a slothful peace both courage will effeminate and manners corrupt. Pope.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

28 December 2024

ACERVULUS

(noun) small asexual fruiting body resembling a cushion or blister consisting of a mat of hyphae that is produced on a host by some fungi


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Coffee Trivia

The average annual yield from one coffee tree is the equivalent of 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of roasted coffee. It takes about 4,000 hand-picked green coffee beans to make a pound of coffee.

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