masculine
1
8.2
- adjective
- /ˈmæskjəlɪn/
- Specialized
- "He compares the new masculine language to the body of a boxer," with no lyrical fat, with no intellectual listlessness, hard, tough, trained.
Examples
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The final line of the poem has a masculine cadence, emphasizing the strength of the emotions expressed.
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Each stanza concludes with a masculine rhyme, giving the poem a powerful and assertive tone.
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When I ask him why artists paint angels with feminine faces but a masculine chest, he tells me angels are sexless.
Fiction book (2002) -
"To be paid for by the Baron Dennis Dugdaleo," Allegra had scribbled across the bottom of the bill in a bold, almost masculine script.
Fiction book (1991) -
The poem enchants, with its mirrors and riddles and its careful knit of masculine and feminine rhymes.
Fiction book (1997) -
Although Desbordes-Valmore's male contemporaries, including Lamartine, Hugo, Vigny, and Sainte-Beuve, recognized her poetic inspiration, they largely disfigured her voice in terms of masculine parameters.
Academic text (2000) -
In classical music, a passage may end on a masculine note, creating a strong and decisive finish.
Compounds
- Specialized
Forms of words like nouns and adjectives used for masculine gender in a language
Surface Forms
Etymology
The musical sense of masculine also comes from the root masculus 'male', used to suggest something 'strong' or 'stressed'. So a masculine cadence or rhyme ends on a strong, stressed beat, giving the ending extra force.