womanish en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˈwʊmənɪʃ/ (UK)
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From Middle English wommanyssh. Equivalent to woman + -ish. The verb is from the adjective.
Meanings
-
(derogatory, often) Characteristic of a woman; effeminate, feminine.
[…] Romans novv / Haue Thevves, and Limbes, like to their Anceſtors; / But vvoe the vvhile, our Fathers mindes are dead, / And vve are gouern'd vvith our Mothers ſpirits, / Our yoake, and ſufferance, ſhevv vs VVomaniſh.
1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], page 113, column 1:Friends are a comfort in misfortune, but one should not make them unhappy by seeking their sympathy, as is done by women and womanish men.
1946, Bertrand Russell, “Aristotle’s Ethics”, in History of Western Philosophy […], London: George Allen and Unwin, →OCLC, book 1 (Ancient Philosophy), part 2 (Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle), page 202:The Fence was a proper Park paling in excellent condition; with clusters of fine Elms, or rows of old Thorns following its line almost every where.—Almost must be stipulated—for there were vacant spaces & through one of these, Charlotte as soon as they entered the Enclosure, caught a glimpse over the pales of something White & Womanish in the field on the other side;—it was a something which immediately brought Miss B. into her head—& stepping to the pales, she saw indeed—& very decidedly, in spite of the Mist; Miss B—seated, not far before her, at the foot of the bank which sloped down from the outside of the Paling & which a narrow Path seemed to skirt along;—Miss Brereton seated, apparently very composedly—& Sir E. D. by her side.
1817 (date written), Jane Austen, chapter 12, in R[aymond] W[ilson] Chambers, editor, Fragment of a Novel Written by Jane Austen, January–March 1817 […] [Sanditon], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Clarendon Press, published 1925, →OCLC, pages 167–168:I don't very much wonder at her fright. We have met before; but I owe her no grudge, and we must not wait for womanish fear.
1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XIV, in Romance and Reality. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 259:Perhaps he did too, for he turned scarlet and turned his face away to the wall, with a womanish gesture of shyness.
1982, Lawrence Durrell, Constance, Faber & Faber 2004 (Avignon Quintet), p. 753
-
Carried out by or pertaining to a woman.
And gan recomfort her in her rude vvyſe, / VVith vvomaniſh compaſſion of her plaint, / VViping the teares from her ſuffuſed eyes, […]
1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto VII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, page 496:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more womanish | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| womannish | alternative, obsolete | lexicographic | |
| most womanish | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Relateds
Translations (15)
ga banda (characteristic of a woman) · ko 여자 같은 (characteristic of a woman) · ru женоподо́бный (characteristic of a woman) · bg женски (characteristic of a woman) · no kvinnelig (characteristic of a woman) · hi स्त्रैण (characteristic of a woman) · es afeminado (characteristic of a woman) · hu nőies (characteristic of a woman) · tr kadınsı (characteristic of a woman) · grc γυναικώδης (characteristic of a woman) · hy կանացի (characteristic of a woman) · el γυναικείος (characteristic of a woman) · mga banamail (characteristic of a woman) · fi naismainen (characteristic of a woman) · ru ба́бий (characteristic of a woman)