femininus

Femininus is a Latin adjective meaning feminine or pertaining to the feminine gender. In classical Latin grammar it is used to describe nouns and pronouns that belong to the feminine class, and it agrees in gender, number, and case with the noun it modifies. The term is commonly encountered in grammars and dictionaries as part of the standard set of adjectives that denote gender, quality, or relation.

Etymology and context: the word derives from femina, meaning "woman," with the suffix -inus forming an adjective. In Latin texts, femininus is one of a group of adjectives that describe gender alongside masculine and neuter forms. When applied to a noun, it takes the appropriate form to agree with that noun’s gender and number; for example, the masculine form is femininus, the feminine form is feminina, and the neuter form is feminimum. The plural forms follow the usual patterns of second-declension adjectives.

Grammar and usage: as a typical second-declension adjective, femininus is declined to match the noun it modifies. It can describe general or specific feminine characteristics and is used in both literary and linguistic discussions of gender in Latin. Because Latin adjectives agree with their nouns, writers choose the feminine form feminina for feminine nouns and femininus for masculine nouns, with feminimum used with neuter nouns.

Contemporary relevance: in modern linguistics, femininus is primarily a historical or descriptive term found in Latin grammar sources. In everyday modern usage, the English equivalent is feminine, and the Latin form is chiefly of interest to scholars studying Latin syntax and historical linguistics.