English → Latin
“female” in Latin
fēminawoman; wife; femalemuliera woman, female; a wife; a coward, poltroonmuliebrisof a woman; womanly; feminine; female; effeminate; womanish; unmanlyfēminīnusfeminine; of or relating to the feminine genderfēmineuswomanly, feminine; effeminate, unmanly
The English word female itself goes back to Latin fēmina, through fēmella.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
female s.
femina (with reference to the sex, opposed to vir): mulier (as having reached a certain age). [Vid: WOMAN.] To disguise one’s self as a female, or in female attire, muliebrem vestem induere: to dress like a female, in muliebrem modum ornari: like a female, in muliebrem modum (e.g., dressed; Vid: above).
female adj.
muliebris (Cic.): femininus (Varr.): femineus (poetical, Quint.). ☞ The female of an animal is commonly translated by femina. A female snake, femina anguis. The female sex, sexus muliebris (sometimes femineus, Plin.).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for female?
- The usual Latin words for “female” are fēmina, mulier, muliebris; also fēminīnus, fēmineus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.