male-centered
UK[ˌmeɪl ˈsen.təd]US[ˌmeɪl ˈsen.tɚd]
adj
Focusing on or dominated by men or a male point of view.
Morpheme Breakdown
male
centered
male
male
centered
focused on
Etymology
The word is a modern English compound, formed by directly combining two established English words. "Male" originates from the Latin masculus, meaning "male" or "masculine," which itself is a diminutive of mas meaning "male." "Centered" derives from the Latin centrum, meaning the central point of a circle, which was borrowed from Greek kéntron. The compound construction follows a productive pattern in English (e.g., "human-centered," "student-centered") where a noun is attached to the past participle "centered" to create an adjective meaning "having the specified group or concept as the primary focus." Thus, "male-centered" literally means "having males as the central focus," a meaning that maps directly to its modern abstract usage describing systems, narratives, or perspectives dominated by men.
Analysis
Structure: male (male) + centered (focused on)
- male: From Latin masculus (male, masculine). In this compound, it functions as a noun modifier specifying the focus.
- centered: From Latin centrum (center) via French. In this compound, it functions as an adjective-forming element meaning "having a focus on."
Examples
The film's narrative is often criticized for being overly male-centered.
Traditional history textbooks have been accused of presenting a male-centered view of events.
The company is working to shift its male-centered marketing strategy to be more inclusive.