femme

== English == === Etymology === Borrowed from French femme (“woman”). Doublet of feme, femina, and hembra. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /fɛm/, but /fɑm/ as a French word. Rhymes: -ɛm Homophone: fem === Noun === femme (plural femmes) A woman, a wife; (now chiefly Canada, US) a young woman or girl. [from 19th c.] (LGBTQ) A lesbian or other queer woman whose appearance, identity etc. is seen as feminine as opposed to butch. [from 20th c.] Synonym: (less common) fem Antonym: butch (LGBTQ, less common) A person whose gender is feminine-leaning, such as a feminine non-binary person. Coordinate term: masc 2018, Queer Magic: Power Beyond Boundaries (Lee Harrington, Tai Fenix Kulystin), page 79: The same is true of Goddess Spirituality spaces which are predicated on Radical Feminist rhetorics about Nature and the embodied experience – even those spaces which are open to trans women and nonbinary femmes may still fall back on language about the womb [...] 2019, The Lemonade Reader: Beyoncé, Black Feminism and Spirituality (Kinitra D. Brooks, Kameelah L. Martin): […] there is no story of Black pain deeper than that of Black fat women and femmes. […] 1 Gender expansive for women, femmes, and nonbinary folks. 2019, Black Girl Magic Beyond the Hashtag (Julia S. Jordan-Zachery, Duchess Harris), page 21: Jordan-Zachery offers two dominant scripts that are often written onto Black women's, femmes', and girls' bodies: The Ass and Strong Black Woman scripts. ==== Related terms ==== en femme === Adjective === femme (comparative more femme, superlative most femme) (chiefly Canada, US, journalism, entertainment) Pertaining to a femme; feminine, female. [from 20th c.] (chiefly derogatory) Effeminate (of a man). [from 20th c.] Characteristic of a feminine lesbian or queer woman. [from 20th c.] Antonym: butch === Derived terms === === See also === == French == === Etymology === Inherited from Middle French femme, from Old French fam(m)e, fem(m)e, fenme, from Latin fēmina, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-m̥h₁n-éh₂ (“(the one) nursing, breastfeeding”), derivation of the verbal root *dʰeh₁(y)- (“to suck, suckle”). The Old French pronunciation was [fɛ̃mə], which then became [fãmə] through lowering of nasal vowels, finally [famə] in Middle French through denasalisation before /m/, /n/. Other words in which -e- is pronounced /a/ include couenne, solennel, and the adverbs in -emment. See cognates in regional languages in France: Norman and Gallo fame; Picard fanme; Bourguignon fonne; Franco-Provençal fèna; Occitan femna; Corsican femina. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /fam/ Rhymes: -am === Noun === femme f (plural femmes) woman Antonym: homme wife Synonym: épouse Antonyms: mari, époux (LGBTQ, rare) alternative form of fem (“femme, feminine lesbian”) (contrast butch) ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== ==== Descendants ==== Antillean Creole: fanm Guianese Creole: fanm Haitian Creole: fanm Karipúna Creole French: fam Louisiana Creole: fenm, famm Seychellois Creole: fanm === Further reading === “femme”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012 == Middle French == === Etymology === From Old French fame, femme, feme, from Latin femina, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-m̥h₁n-éh₂ (“(the one) nursing, breastfeeding”), derivation of the verbal root *dʰeh₁(y)- (“to suck, suckle”). Various spellings such as feme, fame and fenme were used in Old French. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈfa.mə/ === Noun === femme f (plural femmes) wife woman (female adult human being) ==== Synonyms ==== (woman): dame ==== Descendants ==== French: femmeAntillean Creole: fanmGuianese Creole: fanmHaitian Creole: fanmKaripúna Creole French: famLouisiana Creole: fenm, fammSeychellois Creole: fanm == Norman == === Alternative forms === fâme, faume, faumme (Guernsey) foume (continental) fenme (Cotentin) === Etymology === From Old French femme, feme, fame, fenme, from Latin fēmina, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-m̥n-eh₂ (“who sucks”), derivation of the verbal root *dʰeh₁(y)- (“to suck, suckle”). === Noun === femme f (plural femmes) (Jersey, continental) wife (Jersey, continental) woman == Old French == === Noun === femme oblique singular, f (oblique plural femmes, nominative singular femme, nominative plural femmes) alternative form of fame == Poitevin-Saintongeais == === Etymology === Inherited from Old French fame, from Latin fēmina. === Noun === femme woman en boune femme ― a good woman === Further reading === Pierre Rézeau, Le "Vocabulaire poitevin" (1808–1825) de Lubin Mauduyt: Édition critique (1994)