*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of fem-

Etymology tree Latin fēmella Old French femelebor. Middle English femele Middle English female English femaleclip. English feminineclip. English fem- Clipping of female or feminine.

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
prefix

Of or pertaining to femininity or women.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Latin fēmella Old French femelebor. Middle English femele Middle English female English femaleclip. English feminineclip. English fem- Clipping of female or feminine.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":clip",
        "3": "female",
        "4": "feminine",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nLatin fēmella\nOld French femelebor.\nMiddle English femele\nMiddle English female\nEnglish femaleclip.\nEnglish feminineclip.\nEnglish fem-\n[Appendix:Glossary#clipping|Clipping]] of\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"sex\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"female\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"female\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"girl\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"fēmella\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old French\", \"term\" : \"femele\", \"lang\" : \"fro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"femele\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"female\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"female\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }, { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"feminine\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"clipping\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"fem-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"fem-\">\nClipping of female or feminine."
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":clip",
        "3": "female",
        "4": "feminine",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)-der.\nProto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-m̥h₁n-éh₂\nProto-Italic *θēmanā\nProto-Italic *fēmanā\nLatin fēmina\nProto-Indo-European *-lós\nProto-Indo-European *-elós\nProto-Italic *-elos\nLatin -lus\nLatin fēmella\nOld French femelebor.\nMiddle English femele\nMiddle English female\nEnglish femaleclip.\n▲\nLatin fēmina\nProto-Indo-European *-nós\nProto-Indo-European *-iHnos\nProto-Italic *-īnos\nLatin -īnus\nLatin fēminīnusder.\nOld French femininbor.\nMiddle English femynyne\nEnglish feminineclip.\nEnglish fem-\nClipping of female or feminine."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "fēmella",
      "femella#Latin:_girl"
    ],
    [
      "femele",
      "femele#Old_French:_female"
    ],
    [
      "femele",
      "femele#Middle_English:_female"
    ],
    [
      "female",
      "female#Middle_English:_sex"
    ],
    [
      "female",
      "female#English"
    ],
    [
      "feminine",
      "feminine#English"
    ],
    [
      "female",
      "female#English"
    ],
    [
      "feminine",
      "feminine#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "prefix",
      "glosses": [
        "Of or pertaining to femininity or women."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ],
      "recordId": "4595f236cecc1e4e437606fd6ef71eb719342f5ea9580b79653d5ca32ee9d25e",
      "rawRecordSha256": "d4a68eb6ca130a9b15e93178d5bc8414d3cc0188dd8ce1ef22a738e66de70d6a",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 7813089
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for fem- →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-ZmVtLQ