forbidden words: females

females noun plural

1. a: a female person : a woman or a girl

   b: an individual of the sex that is typically capable of bearing young or producing eggs
    
2. a pistillate plant

Word Origin

In the 14th century, female appeared in English with such spellings as femel, femelle, and female. The word comes from the Latin femella, meaning “young woman, girl,” which in turn is based on femina, meaning “woman.” In English, the similarity in form and sound between the words female and male led people to use only the female spelling. This closeness also led to the belief that female comes from or is somehow related to male. However, apart from the influence of male on the modern spelling of female, there is no link between the origins of the two words.

from —female. (2025). In Merriam-Webster Dictionary. 

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Etymology and Usage

The word female comes from the Latin femella, the diminutive form of femina, meaning “woman“, by way of the Old French femelle.^[7] It is not etymologically related to the word male, but in the late 14th century the English spelling was altered to parallel that of male.^[7][8] It has been used as both noun and adjective since the 14th century.^[7] Originally, from its first appearance in the 1300s, female exclusively referred to humans and always indicated that the speaker spoke of a woman or a girl.^[9] A century later, the meaning was expanded to include non-human female organisms.^[9]

For several centuries, using the word female as a noun was considered more respectful than calling her a woman or a lady and was preferred for that reason;^[9] however, by 1895,^[7][10] the linguistic fashion had changed, and female was often considered disparaging, usually on the grounds that it grouped humans with other animals.^[7][11] In the 21st century, the noun female is primarily used to describe non-human animals, to refer to biologically female humans in an impersonal technical context (e.g., “Females were more likely than males to develop an autoimmune disease”), or to impartially include a range of people without reference to age (e.g., girls) or social status (e.g., lady).^[7] As an adjective, female is still used in some contexts, particularly when the sex of the person is relevant, such as female athletes or to distinguish a male nurse from a female one.^[12]

Biological sex is conceptually distinct from gender,^[13][14] although they are often used interchangeably.^[15][16] The adjective female can describe a person’s sex or gender identity.^[6]

The word can also refer to the shape of connectors and fasteners, such as screws, electrical pins, and technical equipment. Under this convention, sockets and receptacles are called female, and the corresponding plugs male.^[17][18]

Species that are divided into females and males are classified as gonochoric in animals, as dioecious in seed plants^[23] and as dioicous in cryptogams.^[24]: 82

In some species, female and hermaphrodite individuals may coexist, a sexual system termed gynodioecy.^[25] In a few species, female individuals coexist with males and hermaphrodites; this sexual system is called trioecy. In Thor manningi (a species of shrimp), females coexist with males and protandrous hermaphrodites.^[26]

from — Wikipedia contributors. (2025i, June 1). Female. 

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example sentences: females

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June 15th, 2025
Flagstaff, Arizona

This is one of the words/ phrases you can’t say in the new Trump Administration. See a comprehensive list at the Forbidden Words Project.

image: so much light © Holly Troy 6.2025