secondary sex characteristic

noun

: a physical characteristic (such as the breasts of a female mammal or the breeding plumage of a male bird) that appears in members of one sex at puberty or in seasonal breeders at the breeding season and is not directly concerned with reproduction

called also secondary sexual characteristic

Word History

First Known Use

1927, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

secondary sex characteristic

noun

: a physical characteristic (as the growth of breasts in the human female or the showy feathers of a male bird) that appears in members of one sex at puberty or in seasonal breeders at breeding season and is not directly concerned with reproduction

Medical Definition

secondary sex characteristic

noun

: a physical characteristic (as the breasts of a female mammal or the nuptial plumage of a male bird) that appears in members of one sex at puberty or in seasonal breeders at the breeding season and is not directly concerned with reproduction

called also secondary sex character, secondary sexual characteristic