Word of the Day

: May 20, 2013

muliebrity

noun myoo-lee-EB-ruh-tee

What It Means

: femininity

muliebrity in Context

"She was one of those women who are wanting in-what is the word?-muliebrity." - From H. G. Wells' 1911 novel New Machiavelli

"She is a motherly figure, but altogether unlike his mother, motherly in a way that allows too for muliebrity." - From Michael Griffith's 2012 book Bibliophilia: A Novella and Stories

Did You Know?

"Muliebrity" has been used in English to suggest the distinguishing character or qualities of a woman or of womankind since the 16th century. (Its masculine counterpart, "virility," entered the language at about the same time.) "Muliebrity" comes from Latin "mulier," meaning "woman," and probably is a cognate of Latin "mollis," meaning "soft." "Mollis" is also the source of the English verb "mollify"-a word that implies a "softening" of hurt feelings or anger.