womanliness
(ˈwʊmənlɪnɪs)
[f. womanly a. + -ness.]
The quality of being womanly; womanly character; † effeminateness.
| 1538 Elyot Dict., Mollicies, et mollicia,..womanlynesse. 1549 Coverdale, etc. Erasm. Par. 1 Pet. iii. 1–6 The entier vpryghtnes, godlynes, womanlynes,.. and sufferaunce of the wyfe. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. iv. (S.T.S.) I. 214 Throuch the negligence of King Constantine, and his womanlines. 1647 Hexham i, Womanlienesse, vrouwachtigheydt. 1864 Reader 30 Apr. 564/2 The Portia of Mrs. Vezin is endued with the grace and womanliness that characterize all her performances. 1876 J. Parker Paracl. i. xvi. 259 The womanliness of the Divine nature, its infinite grace and pathos. 1881 G. Meredith Trag. Com. I. vii. 146 The choicest women are those who yield not a feather of their womanliness for some amount of manlike strength. |