Female — Defs

01 n. An individual of the sex which conceives and brings forth young, or (in a wider sense) which has an ovary and produces ova.

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.
A plant which produces only that kind of reproductive organs which are capable of developing into fruit after impregnation or fertilization; a pistillate plant.(Bot.)

02 a. Belonging to the sex which conceives and gives birth to young, or (in a wider sense) which produces ova; not male.

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.
“To the generous decision of a female mind, we owe the discovery of America.” — Belknap.
3.
Having pistils and no stamens; pistillate; or, in cryptogamous plants, capable of receiving fertilization.(Bot.)

Syn. Female, Feminine.

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.”