muliebrity

Etymology

Comes from Late Latin muliebritās (“womanhood; womanliness”), from Latin muliēbris (“feminine, womanly”) plus -tās (suffix forming nouns indicating a state of being); or from muliēbris plus -ity; compare Middle French muliebrité. Muliēbris itself derives from mulier (“woman; wife”) (from mollior, “softer; milder; weaker”, the comparative of mollis, “soft; mild, tender; weak”, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mel-, “soft; tender; weak”) plus -brīs (noun suffix denoting a person).