Effeminare

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act of rendering someone or something more feminine in gender expression or characteristics
2. The process of transforming an individual to exhibit traits culturally associated with femininity
3. A term referring to the alteration of a person’s demeanor, style, or behavior to align with societal views of femininity

Etymology: In Latin, "effeminare" was rarely a neutral description. It meant to soften or weaken someone, to make a man womanish, unmanly, or enervated, and Roman writers used it as an insult aimed at men who seemed to lose their vigor or courage. The meaning "make more feminine" is the bare, literal reading of its parts. The verb is built from the prefix "ex-", here meaning "thoroughly" or "out," the noun "femina" ("woman"), and the verbal ending "-are." Its adjective, "effeminatus," gave English the word "effeminate," borrowed directly from Latin. English kept the insult more than the verb, which is why "effeminate" now carries the derogatory sense while the verb itself is rarely used.

Synonyms: emasculate