male
/meɪl/ adjective, noun, proper noun
Forms maler malest males
- adjective Belonging to the sex which typically produces sperm, or to the gender which is typically associated with it. “male writers”
- adjective Characteristic of this sex/gender. (Compare masculine, manly.) “stereotypically male interests”
- adjective Tending to lead to or regulate the development of sexual characteristics typical of this sex. “the male chromosome”
- adjective (of bacteria) Having the F factor; able to impart DNA into another bacterium which does not have the F factor (a female).
- adjective (figuratively) Of instruments, tools, or connectors: designed to fit into or penetrate a female counterpart, as in a connector, pipe fitting or laboratory glassware.
- noun A human member of the masculine sex or gender.
- noun An animal of the sex that has testes.
- noun A plant of the masculine sex.
- noun A bacterium which has the F factor.
- noun A male connector, pipe fitting, etc.
- proper noun A surname.
- proper noun A Madang language of Papua New Guinea.
- proper noun The capital city of the Maldives.
Synonyms
plug manly mannish masculine pin male person manful manlike virile
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English male, borrowed from Old French malle, masle (Modern French mâle), from Latin masculus (“masculine, a male”), diminutive of mās (“male, masculine”). Doublet of macho. Displaced native Old English wǣpned (“male”, literally “weaponed”).
* As a Welsh surname, from the personal name Mael, from Middle Welsh mael (“prince”).
* As an English surname of Norman origin, contaminated from many Old French sources, such as mail (“hammer”), maille (“chainmail”), maille (“denier”), or esmal (“enamel”). Compare Mailer.
* Also as an English surname, from Middle English male (“bag, pouch”).
* Also as an English surname of Norman origin, from the source of male (“male, male adult”).
* Also as an English surname, from Middle English mele (“meal, flour”) (compare Millman) or from Old Norse melr (“sandhill”). Compare Meil.
* As a Slovene surname, from the adjective mal (“small, little”), from Proto-Slavic *malъ. Compare Mal, Mahle.
* As a Norwegian surname, from a farm in Romsdal derived from Old Norse mǫl (“layer of pebbles”). Also Americanized from Mæle, Mæhle, itself related to the Norse word melr.
Borrowed from Dhivehi މާލެ (māle).
Abbreviation
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Evil; wicked; bad. [Obs.] Marston.
- noun Same as Mail, a bag. [Obs.] Chaucer.
- adjective Of or pertaining to the sex that begets or procreates young, or (in a wider sense) to the sex that produces spermatozoa, by which the ova are fertilized; not female; as, male organs.
- adjective Capable of producing fertilization, but not of bearing fruit; - -said of stamens and antheridia, and of the plants, or parts of plants, which bear them.
Etymology [L. malus. See Malice.]
Etymology [F. mâle, OF. masle, mascle, fr. L. masculus male, masculine, dim. of mas a male; possibly akin to E. man. Cf. Masculine, Marry, v. t.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “male”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details