Etymograph

English

femininity

Femininity comes from Middle English femynyte ‘Womanliness, femininity’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- ‘to suckle, nurse’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁(y)-1‘to suckle, nurse’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-m̥h₁n-éh₂1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θēmanā1reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fēmanā1reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfēmina1‘woman’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfēminīnus1
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400feminin1
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500femynyne2
  9. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600feminite2
  10. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500femynyte3as femynynytee‘Womanliness, femininity’
  11. Englishearliest quotation 2005femininity3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Middle English femynyne
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Middle English femynyte
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English femininity
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2005, Francine Rose, 'The Peabody Sisters': Reflected Glory: “It's almost eerie, in the wake of the Lawrence…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁(y)-Wiktionary, Middle English femynyne‘to suckle, nurse’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-m̥h₁n-éh₂Wiktionary, Middle English femynynereconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θēmanāWiktionary, Middle English femynynereconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fēmanāWiktionary, Middle English femynynereconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfēminaWiktionary, Middle English femynyne‘woman’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfēminīnusWiktionary, Middle English femynyne
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400femininWiktionary, Middle English femynyne
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500femynyneWiktionary, Middle English femynyte
  9. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600feminiteWiktionary, Middle English femynyte
  10. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500femynyteWiktionary, English femininityas femynynytee‘Womanliness, femininity’
  11. Englishearliest quotation 2005femininityWiktionary, English femininity. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2005, Francine Rose, 'The Peabody Sisters': Reflected Glory: “It's almost eerie, in the wake of the Lawrence…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- ‘to suckle, nurse’

doe, fetus, dai, tyre, fawn, felicity, filial, fellatio, dahi, fecundity, 32 more

through Latin fēmina ‘woman’

female, femme, effeminate, 12 more

Today it means

noun The sum of all attributes that are feminine or convey womanhood.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “femininity”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Middle English femynyne, Middle English femynyte. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- / femininity

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