Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Language: Old French
Origin: femelle (influenced by male), from Latin femella 'girl'

female

2 noun
     
Related topics: Biology, Animals
female2 W3 [countable]
1HBA an animal that belongs to the sex that can have babies or produce eggs [≠ male]
2 a woman or girl [≠ male]:
As a group, females performed better on the test than males.
3 a plant that produces flowers or fruit [≠ male]
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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