male

English Online Dictionary. What means male‎? What does male mean?

English

Etymology

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 “penised”), derived from the noun wǣpn (“weapon”), which had the secondary sense “penis”.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US, pain-pane merger) enPR: māl, IPA^(key): /meɪl/
• (Indic) IPA^(key): /meːl/
• Rhymes: -eɪl
• (pain-pane merger) Homophone: mail

Adjective

male (not generally comparable, comparative maler or more male, superlative malest or most male)

1. Belonging to the sex which typically produces sperm, or to the gender which is typically associated with it. [from 14th c.]

   male writers

   the leading male and female singers

   a male bird feeding a seed to a female

   in bee colonies, all drones are male

   intersex male patients

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:male.
2. Characteristic of this sex/gender. (Compare masculine, manly.)

   stereotypically male interests, an insect with typically male coloration

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:male.
3. 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

4. (grammar, less common than 'masculine') Masculine; of the masculine grammatical gender.
5. (of bacteria) Having the F factor; able to impart DNA into another bacterium which does not have the F factor (a female).
6. (figuratively) Of instruments, tools, or connectors: designed to fit into or penetrate a female counterpart, as in a connector, pipe fitting or laboratory glassware. [from 16th c.]

Synonyms

• manly, mannish, masculine
• (figurative: of instruments, etc): plug, pin

Coordinate terms

• female; androgynous; intersex; non-binary
• (grammar): female: see also masculine

Translations

Noun

male (plural males)

1. One of the male (masculine) sex or gender.
   1. A human member of the masculine sex or gender.
      • For quotations using this term, see Citations:male.
   2. An animal of the sex that has testes.
   3. A plant of the masculine sex.
2. A bacterium which has the F factor.
3. A male connector, pipe fitting, etc.

Usage notes

• Similar to objections over the usage of female(s) as a noun, some people find it dehumanizing to refer to men as "male(s)" due to its zoological use, especially in non-technical contexts. It is frequently used in police blotters, dispatches, reports, and legal, medical, or physiological documents to encompass boys and men, further fueling aversion through this association with criminality and/or vice.

Antonyms

• female

Hyponyms

• man, boy

Translations

Derived terms

See also

• macho
• ♂ (symbol for male)
• sex, gender, gender identity

Anagrams

• -meal, Elam, Elma, Leam, Lema, alme, amel, lame, lamé, leam, lema, meal, mela, mela-

Afar

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maˈle/ [mʌˈlɛ]
• Hyphenation: ma‧le

Particle

malé

1. Alternative form of maléey

References

• Mohamed Hassan Kamil (2015) L’afar: description grammaticale d’une langue couchitique (Djibouti, Erythrée et Ethiopie)‎^[1], Paris: Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (doctoral thesis)

Albanian

Noun

male

1. indefinite nominative/accusative plural of mal

Danish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmaːlə/, [ˈmɛːlə]

Etymology 1

From Middle Low German mālen (“to draw, paint”), from Old Saxon mālōn, from Proto-West Germanic *mālōn, from Proto-Germanic *mēlōną, which could be related to *mailą (“spot, blemish, mark”). Cognate with Icelandic mála (“to paint”).

Verb

male (imperative mal, present maler, past malede or malte, past participle malet or malt)

1. to paint

Derived terms

• maler (“painter”)
• maleri (“painting”)
• maling (“paint”)

Etymology 2

From Old Norse mala, from Proto-Germanic *malaną (“to grind”), from Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- (“to grind, rub, break up”). Cognate with Icelandic mala.

Verb

male (imperative mal, infinitive at male, present tense maler, past tense malede, perfect tense er/har malet)

1. to grind, mill

Derived terms

• maling (“grinding”)

Dutch

Pronunciation

Noun

male

1. (archaic) dative singular of maal

Verb

male

1. (dated or formal) singular present subjunctive of malen

Esperanto

Etymology

From prefix mal- (antonym) +‎ -e (indicates adverbs).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈmale]
• Rhymes: -ale
• Hyphenation: ma‧le

Adverb

male

1. on the contrary
2. opposingly; in opposition

   male ol... ― as opposed to...

Estonian

Etymology

From malev (“army”), a word attested in the 13th century Livonian Chronicle of Henry. Coined by Ado Grenzstein in the 19th century.

Noun

male (genitive male, partitive malet)

1. (board games) chess

Declension

See also

German

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -aːlə

Verb

male

1. inflection of malen:
   1. first-person singular present
   2. singular imperative
   3. first/third-person singular subjunctive I

Hawaiian

Etymology

Borrowed from English marry.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈma.le/, [ˈmɐ.le]

Verb

male

1. to marry

Italian

Etymology

From Latin male.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈma.le/
• Rhymes: -ale
• Hyphenation: mà‧le

Adverb

male (comparative peggio, superlative malissimo)

1. badly, wrongly

   Antonym: bene

Noun

male m (plural mali)

1. evil, harm
2. pain, ache, illness, sickness, disease

Antonyms

• bene

Derived terms

Related terms

• malfare
• malo
• malvagio

Adjective

male

1. (archaic) feminine plural of malo (“bad”)

See also

• dolore

Anagrams

• alme, lame, mela

Latin

Etymology

From malus (“bad, wicked”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈma.le/, [ˈmäɫ̪ɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈma.le/, [ˈmäːle]

Adverb

male (comparative peius, superlative pessimē)

1. badly

   Antonym: bene
2. wrongly

   Synonym: prāvē

3. cruelly, wickedly
4. not much; feebly

Derived terms

• maledīcō
• malefaciō
• nōn male

Related terms

• malus

Descendants

References

• “male”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “male”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• "male", in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[3], London: Macmillan and Co.

Limburgish

Alternative forms

• maale (Eupen, Krefeld)
  • mooehle (Krefeld)
  • maole (Maastrichtian)

Etymology

From Middle Dutch mālen, from Old Dutch *malan, from Proto-West Germanic *malan, from Proto-Germanic *malaną.

Verb

male

1. To mill.

Conjugation

Middle English

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old French masle, malle, from Late Latin masclus, from Latin masculus; compare femele and masculyn.

Alternative forms

• madle, mascle, mal, masle, maule, mawle

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmaːl(ə)/, /ˈmaːdlə/, /ˈmaːdəl/

Noun

male (plural males)

1. A man; a male human or animal.
2. (rare) A "male" gem or plant.
3. (rare) Manhood; the state of being male.

Descendants

• English: male
• Scots: male

References

• “māle, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Adjective

male

1. male (of masculine sex or gender)
2. Used in extended reference to supposedly "male" gems, plants, or astrological portents.

Descendants

• English: male
• Scots: male

References

• “māle, adj.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Anglo-Norman and continental Old French male, from Frankish *malhu, from Proto-Germanic *malhō.

Alternative forms

• maile, mayll, maylle

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmaːl(ə)/

Noun

male (plural males)

2. A bag, pack, or wallet.
3. The belly or one of its contents; a gut.

Descendants

• English: mail
• Scots: mail

References

• “māl(e, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Latin mālum, from Ancient Greek μῆλον (mêlon), of unknown origin.

Alternative forms

• maal

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maːl/

Noun

male

1. (chiefly Late Middle English, uncommon) The appletree (Malus domestica) or its fruit.

References

• “māl(e, n.(3).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 4

Noun

male

1. Alternative form of mayle

Etymology 5

Noun

male

1. (Northern) Alternative form of mel

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From Old Norse mála and Middle Low German malen.

Verb

male (imperative mal, present tense maler, passive males, simple past malte, past participle malt, present participle malende)

1. To paint.

See also

• måle (Nynorsk)

Etymology 2

From Old Norse mala.

Verb

male (imperative mal, present tense maler, passive males, simple past mol or malte, past participle malt, present participle malende)

1. To grind or mill (to make smaller by breaking with a device).
2. To purr (of a cat, to make a vibrating sound in its throat when contented)

Derived terms

References

• “male” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

Verb

male (present tense mel, past tense mol, supine male, past participle malen, present participle malande, imperative mal)

1. Alternative form of mala

Etymology 2

Verb

male (present tense malar, past tense mala, past participle mala, passive infinitive malast, present participle malande, imperative male/mal)

1. (pre-2012) alternative form of måle, to paint.

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɑː.le/

Noun

māle

1. dative singular of māl

Old French

Alternative forms

• malle

Etymology

From Medieval Latin mala, from Frankish *malha (“leather bag”).

Noun

male oblique singular, f (oblique plural males, nominative singular male, nominative plural males)

1. pack, bag

Descendants

• Anglo-Norman: male
  • → Middle English: male
    • English: mail
    • Scots: mail
  • →? Irish: mála (or perhaps via English)
• Middle French: malle
  • → Catalan: mala
  • French: malle
  • → Portuguese: mala
  • → Spanish: mala
• Gallo: mol
• Walloon: male (Forrières)

Pali

Alternative forms

Noun

male

1. locative singular of mala (“dirt”)

Polish

Etymology

From mały +‎ -e.

Pronunciation

• (Lesser Poland):
  • (Przemyśl) IPA^(key): [ˈma.lʲɛ]

Adverb

male (not comparable)

1. (Przemyśl) Synonym of mało

Further reading

• Aleksander Saloni (1908) “male”, in “Lud rzeszowski”, in Materyały Antropologiczno-Archeologiczne i Etnograficzne (in Polish), volume 10, Kraków: Akademia Umiejętności, page 336

Sardinian

Etymology

From Latin male. Compare Italian male.

Adverb

male

1. badly

Serbo-Croatian

Adjective

male

1. inflection of mal:
   1. masculine accusative plural
   2. feminine genitive singular
   3. feminine nominative/accusative/vocative plural

Toba Batak

Etymology

From Proto-Batak *ləhey.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [maˈlɛ]

Adjective

male

1. hungry

References

• Warneck, J. (1906). Tobabataksch-Deutsches Wörterbuch. Batavia: Landesdrukkerij, p. 113.