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/
      • (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈfe.me.a/
     
    • (Portugal) IPA(key): /ˈfe.mjɐ/
      • (Southern Portugal) IPA(key): (some speakers) /ˈfɛ.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
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