male

Etymology

From Middle English male, borrowed from Old French malle, masle (Modern French mâle), from Latin masculus (“masculine, a male”), diminutive of mās (“male, masculine”). Doublet of macho. Displaced native Old English wǣpned (“male”, literally “penised”), derived from the noun wǣpn (“weapon”), which had the secondary sense “penis.”

adj

1. Belonging to the sex which typically produces sperm, or to the gender which is typically associated with it.
   male writers
   the leading male and female singers
   a male bird feeding a seed to a female
   in bee colonies, all drones are male
   intersex male patients
   We got the hang of [caring for a baby], Kate and I, with some quiet, surprising guidance from a gentle male nurse whose touching lack of intrusion was so instinctive as to seem part of the pattern. 1995, Gill Van Hasselt, Childbirth: Your Choices for Managing Pain, Taylor Pub
   Whereas many other trans male vloggers use the videos to assert a conventionally recognizable masculinity through sculpting and carrying their bodies as well as dressing and talking in masculine-coded ways, Carson explores and plays with ways of expressing femininity within (trans) maleness. 2016, Tobias Raun, Out Online
2. Characteristic of this sex/gender. (Compare masculine, manly.)
   stereotypically male interests, an insect with typically male coloration
   A bright light was shone in her eye and then she heard a kind, male voice who she figured must be Dr. Smith. “Yes, let her rest now, but keep an eye on her blood pressure and her pulse. Check her about every 15 or 20 minutes. Call me if any problem occurs.” 2006, Bonnie Roberts, Bruises on the Heart, page 118
   More than that, we cannot find the same dynamics within female career trajectories as in the other two country groups, because the time-structure of female and male careers already shows great similarity within the older generation of elites. In addition, the pattern of the relation between female and male careers remains the same over time. 2004, Mino Vianello, Gwen Moore, Women and Men in Political and Business Elites: A Comparative Study
3. Tending to lead to or regulate the development of sexual characteristics typical of this sex.
   the male chromosome; like testes, ovaries also produce testosterone and some other male hormones
4. (grammar, less common than 'masculine') Masculine; of the masculine grammatical gender.
   The teacher's voice inflects the pulse of nêhiyawêwin as he teaches us. He says a prayer in the first class. Nouns, we learn, have a gender. In French, nouns are male or female, but in Cree, nouns are living or non-living, animate or inanimate. 2012, Naomi McIlwraith, Kiyâm: Poems, page 43
   If you are describing a female noun, you must make the adjective feminine by adding an 'e'. If you describe a male noun, you add an 'er'. For neutral nouns you add an 'es'. 2012, Sinéad Leleu, Michaela Greck-Ismair, German Pen Pals Made Easy KS3
5. (of bacteria) Having the F factor; able to impart DNA into another bacterium which does not have the F factor (a female).
   Furthermore, male bacteria with fi + R factors, which inhibit the function of F (fi fertility inhibition) (Watanabe et al., 1964a), cannot form specific cell pairs at high frequencies. On the contrary, the formation of[…] 1967, Symposium on Infectious Multiple Drug Resistance: Genetics, Molecular Nature, and Clinical Implications of R Factors, May 25, 1967, page 7
   Male bacteria having the sex factor, also known as the F or "fertility" factor, are termed P if the sex factor exists extrachromosomally. F+ bacteria can only conjugate with F, the female counterparts, which do not possess the F [factor]. (Can we date this quote?), The genetics problem solver, Research & Education Assoc., page 443
6. (figurative) Of instruments, tools, or connectors: designed to fit into or penetrate a female counterpart, as in a connector, pipe fitting or laboratory glassware.
   Male adapter connects female pipe threads to polyethylene cold-water pipe; … female flare coupling connects male pipe threads to flared copper or plastic; 1982, Popular Science, page 119

noun

1. One of the male (masculine) sex or gender.
   1. A human member of the masculine sex or gender.
      For quotations using this term, see Citations:male.
   2. An animal of the sex that has testes.
   3. A plant of the masculine sex.
2. A bacterium which has the F factor.
   During mating, F+ male bacteria transfer the F factor to the recipient females, transforming them into F+ males. Males also retain a copy of their F factor for themselves (left). When Hfr (or high frequency recombination) males mate[…] 2001-08-01, Harrison G. Echols, Operators and Promoters: The Story of Molecular Biology and Its Creators, Univ of California Press, page 45
   In this process, one bacterium designated the male bacterium transfers its DNA into the female bacterium. Bacteria are determined to be male or female by a small piece of DNA, called F-plasmid, or sex factor. Bacteria with this small piece of DNA are labeled as males, and bacteria that do not have this factor are considered females. […] Nevertheless, in addition to a small piece of DNA, male bacteria have some unique characteristics. They can make a special protrusion on their surface, called F-pilus. Pilae (plural for pilus) are hair-like structures that cover the[…] 2021-02-26, Gregor Majdic, Soul Mate Biology: Science of attachment and love, Springer Nature, page 10
3. A male connector, pipe fitting, etc.
   Work another rubber washer over the threads of the male adapter that is now sticking out of the bucket. […] cut out with an X-acto knife, then thread the female fittings to the males. 1981, Modern Photography