masculine
part of speech
adjective (masculine); noun (the masculine – grammar)
meaning for a pupil
1) Having qualities that people traditionally think of as typical of men or boys, such as a deep voice. tree →
2) Belonging to or suitable for men. tree →
3) (grammar) In languages like French, Spanish, German or Ukrainian, describing nouns and words of a class called «masculine»; in English, words like «he», «king», «actor» are masculine forms. tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: In Sefer Yetzirah it means the male side of things. The three mother letters give rise to three "masculine" powers from which everything comes. Interpretation: Tradition links the male and female pairs in creation to the way the letters combine, as if all the world were formed from the balance of two forces. In the primary lessons: Used in English and language lessons: in French «le livre» is masculine, «la table» feminine; in English, pairs like king/queen, prince/princess, actor/actress. In everyday talk «masculine» describes styles and qualities, but ideas of what is masculine change between cultures and times; boys and girls can like any colour or hobby. Opposite: «feminine». Phrases: «masculine noun», «masculine form».
examples
- At first existed these three mothers, and there arose three masculine powers, and hence all things have originated. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1887) tree →
- In French, «le soleil» is a masculine noun. tree →
- «Prince» is the masculine form of «princess». tree →
- His voice became deeper and more masculine as he grew up. tree →
- The room was decorated in a masculine style with dark wood. tree →
- In Spanish, most masculine nouns end in -o. tree →
- Some people think pink isn't masculine, but anyone can wear pink. tree →
- «He» and «him» are masculine pronouns. tree →
note
Opposite: «feminine». Neutral: «neuter» (grammar). Grammatical gender is not about real men or women: in German the word for a girl («Mädchen») is neuter. Careful with stereotypes: what counts as masculine is partly custom, not fact.
In the corpora
- noir is the masculine and noire the feminine; both sound "NWAR": un chien noir, une souris noire.
- After an amount French uses de: un kilo de pommes, une bouteille d'eau, un paquet de chips; kilo is masculine.
- Une personne is feminine even for a man, and un bébé is masculine even for a baby girl.
- Before a vowel or a silent h, le and la become l': l'eau (feminine), l'arbre (masculine).
- Most -age words are masculine, but la plage, la page, la cage and l'image are feminine exceptions.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «masculine» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.