létudiante

L'étudiante is the feminine singular form of the noun etudiant, used to refer to a female student. The masculine form is l'étudiant. The definite feminine is written with an apostrophe due to elision before a vowel: l'étudiante; the indefinite feminine is une étudiante. The plural is les étudiantes (feminine) and les étudiants (masculine or mixed).

The term is most commonly associated with students in higher education, such as universities and grandes écoles, though in some contexts it can refer more broadly to someone who studies. In everyday language, the gender of the student is shown by étudiante (female) versus étudiant (male). For groups, one can say des étudiantes or des étudiants; in mixed-gender groups, some writers use des étudiants et des étudiantes or simply the masculine form in less formal contexts.

Etymology and form: Étudiante derives from étudiant, which comes from Late Latin studēns, from studēre “to study,” with the French feminine ending -ante forming the feminine noun. The spelling l'étudiante reflects standard French elision before a vowel.

See also: Étudiant; Étudier; Élève.