雌

Glyph origin
.

Definitions

 * 1)  female
 * 2)  weak; delicate
 * 1)  weak; delicate

Usage notes

 * Commonly used for animals and plants to mean "female" in academic contexts, less commonly used in non-academic contexts (use "母" instead), and not used for humans (use "女" instead). For example:

Etymology 1
First cited to 1867.

The initial me- is the same me component seen in many terms referring to senses of "female". The final -su portion is of uncertain derivation.

The kanji as used originally in Chinese and in older Japanese with the on'yomi of shi referred more specifically to female birds. If the term mesu is much older than the 1800s, the final -su portion may be the ancient morpheme that appears in various names for types of bird, such as or.

Noun

 * 1) a female
 * 2)  a female person; bitch
 * 3) an internal socket

Derived terms

 * : the, a type of butterfly

Etymology 2
Appears in the  of 712.

From. This spelling is used exclusively for non-human contexts.

Noun

 * 1) a female

Etymology 3
First cited to 1839.

→

From fusion of +.

Noun

 * 1) a female

Etymology 4
From.

Affix

 * 1) female
 * 2) effeminate
 * 1) effeminate

Etymology
Extension of.

Noun

 * 1) female