English
masculinity
Masculinity comes from Latin masculus ‘like a male, mannish’, and goes back to mās.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmās1‘male, man’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmasculus1‘like a male, mannish’diminutive of mās
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmasculīnus2
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500masculīnitās3
- Frenchc. 1600–presentmasculinité4
- Englishearliest quotation 1971masculinity4
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin masculinus
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin masculinitas
- 3 Wiktionary, French masculinité
- 4 Wiktionary, English masculinity
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1971, American Journal of Psychotherapy: “Of the six homosexual patients, three men finally overcame…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmāsWiktionary, Latin masculinus‘male, man’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmasculusWiktionary, Latin masculinus‘like a male, mannish’diminutive of mās
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmasculīnusWiktionary, Latin masculinitas
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500masculīnitāsWiktionary, French masculinité
- Frenchc. 1600–presentmasculinitéWiktionary, English masculinity
- Englishearliest quotation 1971masculinityWiktionary, English masculinity. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1971, American Journal of Psychotherapy: “Of the six homosexual patients, three men finally overcame…”
Formed from masculine + -ity
Latin mās ‘male’
Latin masculus ‘male, manly’
Latin masculīnus
Old French masculin
Middle English masculyne
English masculine
The story
Earlier in same sense was masculineness.
Linked words
through Latin mās ‘male, man’
married, marriage, marry, marital, 9 more
through Latin masculus ‘like a male, mannish’
Today it means
noun The degree or property of being masculine or manly; manliness.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “masculinity”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin masculinus, Latin masculinitas, French masculinité. 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 / Latin mās / masculinity