Before revision: It is not etymologically related to the word male, but in the late 14th century the English spelling was altered to parallel that of male.Donald M. Ayers, English Words from Latin and Greek Elements, second edition (1986, University of Arizona Press), p. 113 Female is also used as a noun meaning "a female organism", though describing women as females is Originally, from its first appearance in the 1300s, female exclusively referred to humans and always indicated that the speaker spoke of a woman or a girl.
After revision: It is not etymologically related to the word male, but in the late 14th century the English spelling was altered to parallel that of male.Donald M. Ayers, English Words from Latin and Greek Elements, second edition (1986, University of Arizona Press), p. 113 Originally, from its first appearance in the 1300s, female exclusively referred to humans and always indicated that the speaker spoke of a woman or a girl.