What does feme mean?
Feme is an archaic English legal term meaning a woman, best known through its two historical forms: feme sole, an unmarried woman who enjoyed full legal capacity to own property, make contracts, and retain her earnings, and feme covert, a married woman whose legal identity was subsumed under her husband's. Derived from Old French and ultimately from Latin femina ('woman'), the word entered English through the medieval common-law tradition. Although 'feme' itself rarely appears alone today, its compounds remain important in legal history and feminist scholarship, because they capture how deeply the law once tied a woman's civil status to marriage. The gradual dismantling of feme covert doctrines across the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries marked a turning point in women's rights, making this small word a lasting witness to one of history's most significant legal transformations.
nounA woman; in legal use, a woman considered in relation to her marital status — either a 'feme sole' (an unmarried woman with full legal capacity) or a 'feme covert' (a married woman under her husband's legal guardianship).
- A woman (archaic general use).
- In law: a woman as classified by marital status — 'feme sole' (unmarried) or 'feme covert' (married).
"Under the old doctrine of feme covert, a married woman's property passed into her husband's control."
"As a feme sole, she could freely buy property, sign contracts, and keep her own wages."
"The statute finally abolished the doctrine of feme covert that had governed married women's property rights."
Rarely pluralized; when it appears at all, it typically does so in singular legal contexts referring to a specific woman's status.
"The court records listed several femes sole among the property holders."
Until the late 19th century, English law said a married woman wasn't legally a person of her own — she was a 'feme covert', covered by her husband.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of feme
Feme comes from Old French 'feme', the ancestor of modern French 'femme', which derives from Latin 'femina', meaning woman. It entered English through the language of medieval law, where it was used to classify a woman's legal standing by marital status. Its Latin root also gives us 'feminine', 'female', and 'effeminate', making these true cognates within English.
How feme is actually used
Highly formal and largely historical; found today mainly in legal scholarship, historical writing about women's rights, and genealogical records. The standalone word is rare outside its two fixed legal compounds.
Easily confused with feme
'Femme' is the modern French word for woman (and an identity term in English), while 'feme' is an archaic English legal borrowing used almost exclusively in the phrases 'feme sole' and 'feme covert'.