Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Male?

\Male-\ See {Mal-}.
\Male\, a. [L. malus. See {Malice}.] Evil; wicked; bad. [Obs.] --Marston.
\Male\, n. Same as {Mail}, a bag. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
\Male\, a. [F. m[^a]le, OF. masle, mascle, fr. L. masculus male, masculine, dim. of mas a male; possibly akin to E. man. Cf. {Masculine}, {Marry}, v. t.] 1. Of or pertaining to the sex that begets or procreates young, or (in a wider sense) to the sex that produces spermatozoa, by which the ova are fertilized; not female; as, male organs. 2. (Bot.) Capable of producing fertilization, but not of bearing fruit; -- said of stamens and antheridia, and of the plants, or parts of plants, which bear them. 3. Suitable to the male sex; characteristic or suggestive of a male; masculine; as, male courage. 4. Consisting of males; as, a male choir. 5. (Mech.) Adapted for entering another corresponding piece (the female piece) which is hollow and which it fits; as, a male gauge, for gauging the size or shape of a hole; a male screw, etc. {Male berry} (Bot.), a kind of coffee. See {Pea berry}. {Male fern} (Bot.), a fern of the genus {Aspidium} ({A. Filixmas}), used in medicine as an anthelmintic, esp. against the tapeworm. {Aspidium marginale} in America, and {A. athamanticum} in South Africa, are used as good substitutes for the male fern in medical practice. See {Female fern}, under {Female}. {Male rhyme}, a rhyme in which only the last syllables agree, as laid, afraid, dismayed. See {Female rhyme}, under {Female}. {Male screw} (Mech.), a screw having threads upon its exterior which enter the grooves upon the inside of a corresponding nut or female screw. {Male thread}, the thread of a male screw.
\Male\, n. 1. An animal of the male sex. 2. (Bot.) A plant bearing only staminate flowers.