feminine
feminine — 形容詞
1. relating to the qualities, looks, or conduct that people in a given culture have
女性化
具有傳統上與女性相關的特質
relating to the qualities, looks, or conduct that people in a given culture have long seen as characteristic of women.
Madison's bright silk shirt was seen as too feminine by some of her older relatives.
Madison 那些亮面的絲質襯衫，在她幾位年長親戚眼中太過女性化。
predicative: [noun] + be seen as + feminine
In many communities, caring for children and elderly parents is still viewed as a feminine responsibility.
在許多社群中，照顧小孩和年邁父母仍被視為女性的責任。
collocation: feminine + responsibility / duty
The designer created a line of soft jackets and flowing dresses with feminine shapes.
設計師推出了柔軟外套和飄逸洋裝系列，具有女性化的線條。
Yuki's grandmother taught her that kindness and patience were traditionally seen as feminine virtues.
Yuki 的祖母教導她，仁慈和耐心向來被視為女性的美德。
At lunch, Noa's uncle said football was not feminine when he was young.
午餐時，Noa 的叔叔說他小的時候踢足球不被認為是女性化的。
- masculine
having traits traditionally associated with men
文法句型
be + feminine
feminine + noun
用法筆記
This sense describes social perceptions and cultural expectations, not biological facts. What a society considers feminine can vary greatly across time periods and regions.
常見錯誤
2. relating to one of the classes into which nouns, pronouns, and adjectives are gr
陰性的
文法上的陰性詞類
relating to one of the classes into which nouns, pronouns, and adjectives are grouped in certain languages, alongside masculine and sometimes neuter.
In French, the word for 'table' is feminine, while the word for 'book' is masculine.
在法文中，「桌子」這個字是陰性，「書」則是陽性。
predictative: [noun] + be + feminine [gender]
Chidi found it hard to remember whether 'river' in German is feminine, masculine, or neuter.
Chidi 覺得很難記住德文中「河流」這個字是陰性、陽性還是中性。
When learning Spanish, Eli discovered that most nouns ending in -a are feminine.
Eli 學西文時發現，大多數以 -a 結尾的名詞都是陰性。
In Italian, the word for 'night' — notte — is feminine, while 'day' is a masculine noun.
在義大利文中，「夜晚」notte 是陰性名詞，而 giorno「白天」則是陽性。
- feminine gender
fuller term for the same concept
文法句型
be + feminine [gender]
feminine + noun [gender]
用法筆記
Used strictly for grammatical categories in languages with noun classes (e.g. French, Spanish, German, Italian, Latin). A feminine noun does not necessarily refer to something female — it is a grammatical classification.
常見錯誤
3. referring to an English noun formed with a special ending (such as -ess) that in
陰性名詞
指稱女性的名詞形式
referring to an English noun formed with a special ending (such as -ess) that indicates the word names a woman or a girl.
The feminine form 'waitress' is used less often today, as many restaurants prefer the term 'server'.
陰性形式 waitress 現在比較少用了，很多餐廳偏好用 server 這個詞。
feminine form: base word + -ess; usage note about decline
Élise introduced herself as an 'actor' and asked the organisers not to use the feminine form of the word.
Élise 自稱 actor，並請主辦單位不要使用這個字的陰性形式。
Some feminine animal names like 'lioness' are still common in nature documentaries.
有些陰性動物名稱像 lioness，在自然紀錄片中仍然很常見。
Tamás noticed that the feminine suffix -ess appears in older words such as 'governess' and 'duchess'.
Tamás 注意到 -ess 這個陰性後綴出現在 governess 和 duchess 這類較古老的詞裡。
文法句型
feminine form of [noun]
feminine + noun [word form]
用法筆記
Many feminine noun forms ending in -ess (e.g. 'actress', 'stewardess', 'poetess') are declining in use as gender-neutral alternatives (e.g. 'actor', 'flight attendant', 'poet') become preferred. This is a notable shift in modern English.
常見錯誤
feminine — 名詞
1. a word or grammatical form that belongs to the feminine gender class within a la
陰性詞
文法中的陰性詞或形式
a word or grammatical form that belongs to the feminine gender class within a language's system of noun classification.
In Latin, the feminine of 'teacher' ends in -a, while the masculine form ends in -us.
在拉丁文中，teacher 的陰性詞以 -a 結尾，陽性詞則以 -us 結尾。
structure: the feminine of [word] + [grammar rule]
Saira opened her grammar notebook and circled every feminine in the morning's vocabulary list.
Saira 翻開她的文法筆記本，在早上那張字彙表上圈出了每一個陰性詞。
Students learning Polish must memorise whether each noun is a masculine, a feminine, or a neuter.
學波蘭文的學生必須記住每個名詞是陽性詞、陰性詞還是中性詞。
The suffix -a in Spanish is a common feminine that helps students guess the noun's gender.
西班牙文的 -a 後綴是常見的陰性詞標記，有助於學生判斷名詞的性別。
文法句型
the feminine
a feminine
feminine of [noun]
常見錯誤
2. all the traits, behaviours, and features that a given society has historically r
女性特質
傳統上與女性相關的特質總稱
all the traits, behaviours, and features that a given society has historically regarded as belonging to women, viewed as an abstract notion.
The book examines how society's understanding of the feminine has shifted over the past hundred years.
這本書探討了過去一百年來社會對女性特質的理解出現了怎樣的轉變。
abstract use: the feminine [as a concept]
Paloma's photography explores the relationship between power and the feminine in the early twentieth century.
Paloma 的攝影作品探討了二十世紀初期權力與女性特質之間的關係。
Some argue that the feminine should be valued just as highly as traditionally masculine traits in the workplace.
有人主張女性特質在職場上應該受到與傳統陽性特質同等的重視。
Ada's research looks at how the feminine is represented in popular films from the 1920s.
Ada 的研究探討了女性特質在 1920 年代流行電影中是如何被呈現的。
- femininity
more personal and individual; describes the quality of being feminine in a person
- womanhood
broader; can refer to the state or condition of being a woman, not just associated traits
- the masculine
the set of qualities traditionally associated with men
文法句型
the feminine [abstract noun concept]
用法筆記
Distinguish from 'femininity', which usually refers to the quality or state of being feminine in an individual. 'The feminine' as a noun tends to be more abstract and collective, describing a broad concept rather than a personal attribute.