Female
Female
Female (/fiˈmeɪl/) is a term used in the field of biology to denote the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces non-mobile ova (egg cells) that can be fertilized by mobile sperm. The term is also used to denote gender in many other species, including humans.
Etymology
The word "female" comes from the Old French femelle, which is derived from the Latin femella, the diminutive form of femina, meaning "woman". It is not until the 14th century that "female" appears in English, its earlier incarnation in English being "femella".
Related Terms
- Sexual reproduction: A type of reproduction that involves the combination of genetic material from two individuals.
- Ova: The egg cell that is produced by females and can be fertilized by a sperm cell.
- Sperm: The male reproductive cell that can fertilize an ovum.
- Gender: The range of characteristics pertaining to, and differentiating between, masculinity and femininity.
- Sexual dimorphism: The condition where the two sexes of the same species exhibit different characteristics beyond the differences in their sexual organs.
- X chromosome: One of the two sex-determining chromosomes in many organisms, including humans. Females typically have two X chromosomes.
- Y chromosome: One of the two sex-determining chromosomes in many organisms, including humans. Females typically do not have a Y chromosome.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Female
- Wikipedia's article - Female
This WikiMD dictionary article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.
Languages: - East Asian
中文,
日本,
한국어,
South Asian
हिन्दी,
Urdu,
বাংলা,
తెలుగు,
தமிழ்,
ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian
Indonesian,
Vietnamese,
Thai,
မြန်မာဘာသာ,
European
español,
Deutsch,
français,
русский,
português do Brasil,
Italian,
polski