History
The English word feminine is derived from the Latin femina meaning "woman" or "female," and literally "she who suckles".
Modern notions of femininity began during the English medieval period at the time of the bubonic plague in the 1300s. Women in the Middle Ages were referred to simply as maiden, wife, or widow. After the Black Death in England wiped out approximately half of the population, traditional gender roles of wife and mother changed, and opportunities opened up for women in society. The concept of "woman" changed in a number of ways and new language had to be created to describe these roles, with words like femininity and womanhood.
Read more about this topic: Femininity
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