male.
Belonging to the sex which typically produces sperm, or to the gender which is typically associated with it.
Meaning & usage
Belonging to the sex which typically produces sperm, or to the gender which is typically associated with it.
male writers
the leading male and female singers
Characteristic of this sex/gender. (Compare masculine, manly.)
stereotypically male interests
an insect with typically male coloration
Tending to lead to or regulate the development of sexual characteristics typical of this sex.
the male chromosome
like testes, ovaries also produce testosterone and some other male hormones
Masculine; of the masculine grammatical gender.
Having the F factor; able to impart DNA into another bacterium which does not have the F factor (a female).
Of instruments, tools, or connectors: designed to fit into or penetrate a female counterpart, as in a connector, pipe fitting or laboratory glassware.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Latin mās Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Indo-European *-elós Proto-Italic *-elos Proto-Italic *-kelos Latin -culus Latin masculus Vulgar Latin masclus Old French maslebor. Middle English male English male From Middle English male, borrowed from Old French malle, masle (Modern French mâle), from Latin masculus (“masculine, a male”), diminutive of mās (“male, masculine”). Doublet of macho. Displaced native Old English wǣpned (“male”, literally “weaponed”).
One of the male (masculine) sex or gender. A human member of the masculine sex or gender.
One of the male (masculine) sex or gender. An animal of the sex that has testes.
One of the male (masculine) sex or gender. A plant of the masculine sex.
A bacterium which has the F factor.
A male connector, pipe fitting, etc.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Latin mās Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Indo-European *-elós Proto-Italic *-elos Proto-Italic *-kelos Latin -culus Latin masculus Vulgar Latin masclus Old French maslebor. Middle English male English male From Middle English male, borrowed from Old French malle, masle (Modern French mâle), from Latin masculus (“masculine, a male”), diminutive of mās (“male, masculine”). Doublet of macho. Displaced native Old English wǣpned (“male”, literally “weaponed”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.