What does womanhood mean?
Womanhood denotes the condition, identity, and experience of being a woman. In contemporary use, it often appears in writing about personal development, social and cultural expectations, representation, and the diverse ways women understand themselves. The word can also refer more specifically to a phase of female life, especially adulthood, a sense found particularly in older literary language. Unlike a straightforward synonym such as femininity, womanhood emphasizes the state of being a woman and can encompass biological, psychological, social, and cultural dimensions. Historical uses sometimes treated womanhood as a fixed set of feminine characteristics or a status conferred upon maturing girls and women. Modern usage is generally broader and more self-directed, though the term retains a somewhat formal or literary tone. It is also commonly paired with manhood when contrasting the experiences or cultural expectations associated with women and men.
nounThe condition, status, identity, or experience of being a woman. In older or more literary usage, it can also denote a phase or period of female life.
- The condition, status, or identity of being a woman.
- A period or phase of female life, especially adulthood.
- Women considered collectively, especially in historical or literary contexts.
"The exhibition celebrates the many forms of womanhood without reducing it to a single ideal."
"She spoke of womanhood as both an identity and a continuing process of self-definition."
"The novel traces a woman's passage into womanhood and the freedom she discovers there."
Rare; the word is ordinarily treated as an uncountable noun, but the plural can distinguish different forms of womanhood.
"The exhibition explores several distinct womanhoods across different cultures and generations."
The “-hood” in womanhood once meant “condition” or “status,” so the word literally names the state of being a woman.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does womanhood come from?
Womanhood was formed in English during the 16th century from woman and the element -hood. Its suffix comes from Old English hād, meaning state, condition, status, or office, so the compound originally expressed the condition of being a woman. Words such as manhood, fatherhood, and motherhood use the same Old English-derived element in related senses.
Related word forms
How womanhood is actually used
Somewhat formal or literary in modern English. It is often used in discussion of female identity, experience, and representation, while older writing may associate it more narrowly with traits or status regarded as characteristically feminine.