# effeminate
## English
### Alternative forms

* effæminate, effeminat, effœminat, effœminate (obsolete)

### Etymology

From Middle English effeminat, effemynat, from Latin effēminātus, past participle of effēminō, from fēmina (“woman”).

### Pronunciation

* (adjective): IPA: /ɪˈfɛmɪnət/
** Audio (Southern England):(file)
* (verb): IPA: /ɪˈfɛmɪneɪt/
** Audio (Southern England):(file)

### Adjective

effeminate (comparative more effeminate, superlative most effeminate)
* (often derogatory, of a man or boy) Exhibiting behaviour or mannerisms considered typical of a female; unmasculine.
** 1759, Richard Hurd, Moral and Political Dialogues:An effeminate and unmanly foppery.
** 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XI, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 125:The Comte d'Artois had neither the dignified nor the manly air of his brother—he rather appeared like a pretty-looking girl, so effeminate was he and fair.
* (obsolete) Womanly; tender, affectionate, caring.
** c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene vii]:Gentle, kind, effeminate remorse.

#### Synonyms

* camp, swish, epicene, effete, feminine, unmanly

#### Antonyms

* uneffeminate, noneffeminate, non-effeminate

#### Derived terms

* effeminately
* effeminateness
* effeminist

#### Translations
### Verb

effeminate (third-person singular simple present effeminates, present participle effeminating, simple past and past participle effeminated)
* (transitive, archaic or nonstandard) To make womanly; to unman.
** 1603, Michel de Montaigne, translated by John Florio, The Essayes […], London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:, Folio Society, 2006, vol.1, p.134:
    the studie of sciences doth more weaken and effeminate mens minds, than corroborate and adapt them to warre.
** 1693, [John Locke], “§106”, in Some Thoughts Concerning Education, London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], →OCLC:It will not corrupt or effeminate their [children's] minds.
** 2003 April 13, AlannahLouis, “Thoughts on #308 - THREE GAYS OF THE CONDO”, in alt.tv.simpsons‎ (Usenet):I mean the represenstation of gay men on The Simpsons is getting more one-dimensional. For several years Smithers was quite masculine, yet the writers have effeminated him gradually (collecting Barbies, for instance), now he's rollerblading down the street with rainbow hotpants on?
* (intransitive) To become womanly.

#### Antonyms

* immasculate

### Noun

effeminate (plural effeminates)
* An effeminate person.
** 1976, Psychiatry, volumes 39-40, page 246:The effeminates are males with obviously recognizable traits and mannerisms; […]

### Related terms

* effeminacy

## Italian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ef.fe.miˈna.te/
* Rhymes: -ate
* Hyphenation: ef‧fe‧mi‧nà‧te

### Adjective

effeminate
* feminine plural of effeminato

### Participle

effeminate
* feminine plural of effeminato

### Verb

effeminate
* inflection of effeminare:
** second-person plural present indicative
** second-person plural imperative

## Latin
### Verb

effēmināte
* second-person plural present active imperative of effēminō

### References

* “effeminate”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “effeminate”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
* effeminate in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.