male
UK[meɪl]US[meɪl]
adj
Of or denoting the sex that produces small, typically motile gametes, especially spermatozoa, with which a female may be fertilized or inseminated to produce offspring.
n
A male person, animal, or plant.
Etymology
The English word 'male' entered the language in the 14th century via Old French 'masle', which itself evolved from the Latin 'masculus', a diminutive of 'mas' meaning 'male person'. The Latin term traces its origins to the Proto-Indo-European root meryo-, meaning 'young man'. The semantic journey is direct, moving from the ancient concept of a young man to the broader biological classification of the sex that produces sperm. The modern spelling 'male' was influenced by its French counterpart, distinguishing it from the unrelated word 'mail'. Its logic remains anchored in the fundamental biological distinction of sex.
Analysis
The word 'male' is a simplex loanword from French. It cannot be meaningfully segmented into smaller morphemes within its current English spelling. Its core component is the Latin root 'masculus', meaning 'male, masculine'.
Examples
The male lion is easily recognized by its impressive mane.
The survey collected data from both male and female participants.
Most male birds are more brightly colored than their female counterparts.