Rarely used but in reproach. The noun meaning "effeminate person" is from 1590s. Related: Effeminately; effemination. female (n.) early 14c., female, femele, "woman, human being of the sex which brings forth young," from Old French femelle "woman, female" (12c.), from Medieval Latin...
1851, "qualities of females;" 1895, "advocacy of women's rights;" from Frenchféminisme(1837); seefeminine+-ism. Also, in biology, "development of female secondary sexual characteristics in a male" (1875). femme fatale(n.) "attractive and dangerous woman," 1895, from Frenchfemme fatale,...