La·dy n.; pl. Ladies
 1. A woman who looks after the domestic affairs of a family; a mistress; the female head of a household.
    Agar, the handmaiden of Sara, whence comest thou, and whither goest thou? The which answered, Fro the face of Sara my lady.   --Wyclif (Gen. xvi. 8.).
 2. A woman having proprietary rights or authority; mistress; -- a feminine correlative of lord. “Lord or lady of high degree.”
 Of all these bounds, even from this line to this, . . .
 We make thee lady.   --Shak.
 3. A woman to whom the particular homage of a knight was paid; a woman to whom one is devoted or bound; a sweetheart.
 The soldier here his wasted store supplies,
 And takes new valor from his lady's eyes.   --Waller.
 4. A woman of social distinction or position. In England, a title prefixed to the name of any woman whose husband is not of lower rank than a baron, or whose father was a nobleman not lower than an earl. The wife of a baronet or knight has the title of Lady by courtesy, but not by right.
 5. A woman of refined or gentle manners; a well-bred woman; -- the feminine correlative of gentleman.
 6. A wife; -- not now in approved usage.
 8. Zool. The triturating apparatus in the stomach of a lobster; -- so called from a fancied resemblance to a seated female figure. It consists of calcareous plates.
 Ladies' man, a man who affects the society of ladies.
 Lady altar, an altar in a lady chapel. --Shipley.
 Lady chapel, a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
 Lady court, the court of a lady of the manor.
 Lady crab Zool., a handsomely spotted swimming crab (Platyonichus ocellatus) very common on the sandy shores of the Atlantic coast of the United States.
 Lady fern. Bot. See Female fern, under Female, and Illust. of Fern.
 Lady in waiting, a lady of the queen's household, appointed to wait upon or attend the queen.
 Lady Mass, a Mass said in honor of the Virgin Mary. --Shipley. Lady of the manor, a lady having jurisdiction of a manor; also, the wife of a manor lord. Lady's maid, a maidservant who dresses and waits upon a lady. --Thackeray.
 Our Lady, the Virgin Mary.


 Male, a.
 1. Of or pertaining to the sex that begets or procreates young, or (in a wider sense) to the sex that produces spermatozoa, by which the ova are fertilized; not female; as, male organs.
 2. Bot. Capable of producing fertilization, but not of bearing fruit; -- said of stamens and antheridia, and of the plants, or parts of plants, which bear them.
 3. Suitable to the male sex; characteristic or suggestive of a male; masculine; as, male courage.
 4. Consisting of males; as, a male choir.
 5. Mech. Adapted for entering another corresponding piece (the female piece) which is hollow and which it fits; as, a male gauge, for gauging the size or shape of a hole; a male screw, etc.
 Male fern Bot., a fern of the genus Aspidium (Aspidium Filixmas), used in medicine as an anthelmintic, esp. against the tapeworm. Aspidium marginale in America, and Aspidium athamanticum in South Africa, are used as good substitutes for the male fern in medical practice. See Female fern, under Female.
 Male rhyme, a rhyme in which only the last syllables agree, as laid, afraid, dismayed. See Female rhyme, under Female.
 Male screw Mech., a screw having threads upon its exterior which enter the grooves upon the inside of a corresponding nut or female screw.
 Male thread, the thread of a male screw.


 Fe·male, a.
 1. Belonging to the sex which conceives and gives birth to young, or (in a wider sense) which produces ova; not male.
 As patient as the female dove
 When that her golden couplets are disclosed.   --Shak.
 2. Belonging to an individual of the female sex; characteristic of woman; feminine; as, female tenderness. “Female usurpation.”
    To the generous decision of a female mind, we owe the discovery of America.   --Belknap.
 3. Bot. Having pistils and no stamens; pistillate; or, in cryptogamous plants, capable of receiving fertilization.
 Female rhymes Pros., double rhymes, or rhymes (called in French feminine rhymes because they end in e weak, or feminine) in which two syllables, an accented and an unaccented one, correspond at the end of each line.
 Note: ☞ A rhyme, in which the final syllables only agree (strain, complain) is called a male rhyme; one in which the two final syllables of each verse agree, the last being short (motion, ocean), is called female.
 -- Female screw, the spiral-threaded cavity into which another, or male, screw turns.  --Nicholson.
 Female fern Bot., a common species of fern with large decompound fronds (Asplenium Filixfæmina), growing in many countries; lady fern.
 Note: ☞ The names male fern and female fern were anciently given to two common ferns; but it is now understood that neither has any sexual character.
 Syn: -- Female, Feminine.
 Usage: We apply female to the sex or individual, as opposed to male; also, to the distinctive belongings of women; as, female dress, female form, female character, etc.; feminine, to things appropriate to, or affected by, women; as, feminine studies, employments, accomplishments, etc. “Female applies to sex rather than gender, and is a physiological rather than a grammatical term. Feminine applies to gender rather than sex, and is grammatical rather than physiological.”

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