« female (of an animal) » en sept langues
Sensfemale (of an animal)
Espagnol
/ˈembɾa/
fém.héréditaire
Français
/fəmɛl/
fém.autre source · Latin FĒMELLAM 'young woman', a diminutive of FĒMINA
Italien
/ˈfemmina/
fém.héréditaire
Also used of people: maschio o femmina? 'boy or girl?'.
Portugais
/ˈfemjɐ/
fém.héréditaire
Portuguese loses Latin intervocalic -n-: FĒMINA → fêmea, as LŪNA → lua.
Roumain
/feˈmelə/
fém.autre source · French femelle (Latin FĒMELLA, a diminutive of FĒMINA)
Catalan
/fəˈmeʎə/
fém.autre source · Latin FĒMELLAM 'young woman', a diminutive of FĒMINA
Anglais
/ˈfimeɪl/
autre source · Old French femelle (Latin FĒMELLA), respelled after male
Female and male look like a pair but are unrelated: male comes from MASCULUS.
L’ancêtre latin
FĒMINAM‘woman, female’
Les six sœurs en descendent, sauf indication contraire ci-dessous.
L’histoire
Spanish hembra shows two changes at once: F- became a silent h, and the stranded MN after syncope grew into mbr (as in hombre from HOMINEM).
Parents anglais: feminine, feminism, effeminate
Lois phonétiques à l’œuvre
L’apprendre
Dans une phrase
- esLa hembra pone cuatro huevos.
- frLa femelle pond quatre œufs.
- itLa femmina depone quattro uova.
- ptA fêmea põe quatro ovos.
- roFemela depune patru ouă.
- caLa femella pon quatre ous.
- enThe female lays four eggs.