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An organism's sex is female (symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction.

A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and males are results of the anisogamous reproduction system, wherein gametes are of different sizes (unlike isogamy where they are the same size). The exact mechanism of female gamete evolution remains unknown.

In species that have males and females, sex-determination may be based on either sex chromosomes, or environmental conditions. Most female mammals, including female humans, have two X chromosomes. Characteristics of organisms with a female sex vary between different species, having different female reproductive systems, with some species showing characteristics secondary to the reproductive system, as with mammary glands in mammals.

In humans, the word ''female'' can also be used to refer to gender in the social sense of gender role or gender identity. (eBook)

Etymology and usage

The word ''female'' comes from the Latin , the diminutive form of , meaning "woman", by way of the Old French ''femelle''. It is not etymologically related to the word ''male'', but in the late 14th century the English spelling was altered to parallel that of ''male''.Donald M. Ayers, ''English Words from Latin and Greek Elements'', second edition (1986, University of Arizona Press), p. 113 It has been used as both noun and adjective since the 14th century. Originally, from its first appearance in the 1300s, ''female'' exclusively referred to humans and always indicated that the speaker spoke of a woman or a girl. A century later, the meaning was expanded to include non-human female organisms.

For several centuries, using the word ''female'' as a noun was considered more respectful than calling her a ''woman'' or a ''lady'' and was preferred for that reason; however, by 1895, the linguistic fashion had changed, and ''female'' was often considered disparaging, usually on the grounds that it grouped humans with other animals. In the 21st century, the noun ''female'' is primarily used to describe non-human animals, to refer to biologically female humans in an impersonal technical context (e.g., "Females were more likely than males to develop an autoimmune disease"), or to impartially include a range of people without reference to age (e.g., ''girls'') or social status (e.g., ''lady''). As an adjective, ''female'' is still used in some contexts, particularly when the sex of the person is relevant, such as ''female athletes'' or to distinguish a ''male nurse'' from a female one.

Biological sex is conceptually distinct from gender, although they are often used interchangeably. The adjective ''female'' can describe a person's sex or gender identity.

The word can also refer to the shape of connectors and fasteners, such as screws, electrical pins, and technical equipment. Under this convention, sockets and receptacles are called ''female,'' and the corresponding plugs ''male''.

Defining characteristics

Females produce ova, the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller and usually motile gametes, the spermatozoa, are produced by males. Generally, a female cannot reproduce sexually without access to the gametes of a male, and vice versa,