Muliebrity

Muliebrity

Muliebrity is the quality of being a woman. This word is sometimes used as a counterpart to virility, in an analogy with the counterparts of "feminine" and "masculine". The word is derived from Latin "muliebritas" ("womanhood") and "mulier" ("woman"). The "Oxford English Dictionary" (1st edition) noted it was "rare".

Muliebrity (miuliˌe•brǐti). "rare". [ad. L. muliebrit-ās, f. "muliebris" : see MULIEBRAL.] Womanhood ; the characteristics or qualities of a woman.
*1592 [?KYD] "Soliman & Pers." IV. ii. The Ladies of Rhodes haue made their petition to Cupid to plague you aboue all..other, as one preiuditiall to their muliebritie.
*"c" 1693 "Urquhart's Rabelais" III. xxxii. 270 Individual Womanishness or Muliebrity.
*1858 O. W. HOLMES "Aut. Breakf.-t." ix. The second of the ravishing voices..had so much woman in it,— muliebrity, as well as femineity.
The American Heritage Dictionary adds that muliebrity is the "state of womanhood (in contrast with maidenhood)." [ [http://www.aol.bartleby.com/61/7/M0470700.html 'muliebrity',] "American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.] In this sense, muliebrity is a state achieved by successful relationship with a man.
*He exercised his virility and she received her muliebrity.

Some thesauruses supply "muliebrity" among other approximate synonyms for "womanhood" and "femininity". Vanderbilt University uses it in a slightly different way, offering a Muliebrity Award to recognize the "achievements" of women. In his book Mother Tongue (1990), author Bill Bryson describes it as meaning "the state of being a woman" .

The word came into a wider circulationFact|date=May 2008 after the book of Joni Arredia. It is found in Al Purdy's poem "Uncle Fred on Côte des Neiges" in "Poems for All the Annettes" (Toronto, 1962). Muliebrity is also the name of a poem, written by Sujata Bhatt.

References

External links

* [http://www.wordsmith.org/words/muliebrity.html Wordsmith Word of the Day] entry.

Literature

*Arredia, Joni, "Muliebrity: Qualities of a Woman", 1996, ISBN 0-9653203-1-6 (hardcover)


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?
Synonyms:
/ , , , , / , , ,


Look at other dictionaries:

  • Muliebrity — Mu li*eb ri*ty (m[=u] l[i^]*[e^]b r[i^]*t[y^]), n. [L. muliebritas, fr. muliebris belonging to a woman, fr. mulier a woman.] 1. The state of being a woman or of possessing full womanly powers; womanhood; correlate of {virility}. [1913 Webster] 2 …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • muliebrity — [myo͞o΄lē eb′rə tē] n. [LL muliebritas < L muliebris, womanly, womanish < mulier, a woman, prob. < IE * mlyésī, (the) softer (one), compar. of * mḷdu (> L mollis) < base * mel > MILL1] 1. the condition of being a woman;… …   English World dictionary

  • muliebrity — noun Etymology: Late Latin muliebritat , muliebritas, from Latin muliebris of a woman, from mulier woman Date: 1592 femininity …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • muliebrity — muliebral, adj. /myooh lee eb ri tee/, n. 1. womanly nature or qualities. 2. womanhood. [1585 95; < LL muliebritas womanhood, equiv. to L muliebri(s) womanly (deriv. of mulier woman) + tas TY2] * * * …   Universalium

  • muliebrity — noun mjuːlɪˈɛbrɪtɪ a) The state or quality of being a woman, the features of womans nature. b) The coordinate term to virility, in an analogy with the coordinate terms of femininity and masculinity. Syn: mulieritas, femininity, femineity …   Wiktionary

  • muliebrity — (Roget s Thesaurus II) noun Women in general: distaff, femininity, womanhood, womankind, womenfolk. See GENDER …   English dictionary for students

  • muliebrity — mjuːlɪ ebrÉ™tɪ n. ladylike quality, womanliness …   English contemporary dictionary

  • muliebrity — [ˌmju:lɪ ɛbrɪti] noun literary womanly qualities; womanhood. Origin C16: from late L. muliebritas, from L. mulier woman …   English new terms dictionary

  • muliebrity — n. 1. Womanhood. 2. Femineity, womanishness, womanhood, feminality, femininity. 3. Womanishness, effeminacy, softness, weakness …   New dictionary of synonyms

  • muliebrity — mu·li·eb·ri·ty …   English syllables

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”