Masculine
Masculine (/mæskju:lɪn/) is a grammatical gender and noun class.
In English, a masculine noun always belongs to the personal gender, never the impersonal gender, and within the personal gender contrasts with the feminine gender. Most people who are referred to using masculine nouns are biologically male, though many are not. Masculine nouns are also often used to refer to male animals. The masculine pronouns in English are "he", "him", "his", and "himself", and all these are third person singular.
Many words can refer to either masculine or feminine nouns - these are dual gender. Those that refer to masculine, feminine or neuter nouns are common gender.
A good test for a masculine noun is to consider which pronoun can be used to refer to it when restricted to third person singular pronouns; if only "he" (etc) can be used and "she" (etc) can't be used, then as a consequence of gender concord, the noun is masculine. However, if either "he" or "she" can be used the noun is dual gender, and if "he", "she" or "it" can be used then the noun is common gender.
Examples of masculine nouns in English[edit]
| Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Pronouns | he, him, his, himself |
| Personal names | Andrew, Dave, James, John, etc, etc, etc |
| Nouns for describing people | boy, gentleman, man, master |
| Personal title | Mr (mister) |
| Family-related nouns | bachelor, brother, father, fiancé, nephew, son, uncle, widower |
| Demonyms | Dutchman, Englishman, Filipino, Frenchman, Irishman, Latino, Manxman, Scotsman, Welshman, Yorkshireman |
| Gendered job titles | waiter, schoolmaster, compounds with -man (e.g. policeman, salesman, etc) |
| Noun phrase with a masculine noun modifier or adjective | "boy scout", "male student", etc |
| Aristocratic ranks | baron, baronet, count, duke, earl, emperor, king, knight, marquess, prince, viscount |
| Male animals | boar, bull, bullock, ram, stag, steer, etc. |
| Insults | dick, prick, tosser, wanker, etc |
Gender-neutral language, which uses the common gender to cover both masculine, feminine and non-binary is preferred by many especially in formal registers of contemporary English. This is less common however in historical English.
Unlike many other languages, English does not have gender concord whereby other related words must agree with the gender of the noun.
