fêmea

Portuguese

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese femea, femẽa (“female”), from Latin fēmina (“woman, wife, female”), from Proto-Italic *fēmanā, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-m̥n-eh₂ (“(f.) one who is sucked; one who suckles”), derivation of the verbal root *dʰeh₁(y)- (“to suck, suckle”).

Cognate with Galician femia, Spanish hembra, Occitan femna, French femme, Italian femmina and Romanian famen.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfẽ.mi.ɐ/ [ˈfẽ.mɪ.ɐ], (faster pronunciation) /ˈfẽ.mjɐ/, /ˈfẽ.me.ɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfẽ.mi.ɐ/ [ˈfẽ.mɪ.ɐ], (faster pronunciation) /ˈfẽ.mjɐ/, /ˈfẽ.me.ɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfe.me.a/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈfe.mjɐ/

• Hyphenation: fê‧me‧a

Noun

fêmea f (plural fêmeas)

1. female (animal of the sex that produces eggs)

   Coordinate term: macho

Descendants

• Kabuverdianu: fémia

Adjective

fêmea

1. feminine singular of fêmeo