female
n. countablen. a person or animal that belongs to the sex that can have babies or produce eggs. You use this word in science or when talking about animals and plants.
n. an individual of the sex that is capable of bearing young or producing eggs. Often used in biological or technical contexts to distinguish sex without implying social gender.
The female of the species is often smaller than the male.
Researchers observed that the female returned to the nest every evening to feed the chicks.
In many avian species, the female possesses more muted plumage than the male, a trait that provides essential camouflage while she is incubating eggs in the nest.
Etymology tree Proto-Italic *fēmanā Latin fēmina Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Italic *-elos Latin -lus Latin fēmella Old French femelebor. Middle English femele Middle English female English female From Middle English female, an alteration of Middle English femele, from Old French femele, femelle (“female”), from Medieval Latin fēmella (“a female”), from Latin fēmella (“a girl, a young female, a young woman”), diminutive of fēmina (“a woman”). The English spelling and pronunciation were remodelled under the influence of male, which is otherwise not etymologically related. Contrast woman, which is etymologically built on man (as in, “person”).
While common in biological and medical contexts, using this word to refer to women in everyday social situations can sound overly clinical or dehumanising.