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**fe-lic-i-tate** /fɪ'lɪsɪteɪt/ *v* [T(on, upon)] *pomp or humor to* CONGRATULATE **--tations** /fɪ,lɪsɪ'teɪʃənz/ *n* [P]
**fe-lic-i-tous** /fɪ'lɪsɪtəs/ *adj fml* (of a word or remark) suitable and well-chosen **--ly** *adv* **--ness** *n* [U]
**fe-lic-i-ty** /fɪ'lɪsɪti/ *n fml* **1** [U] happiness **2** [C;U] (an example of) the quality of being felicitous
**fe-line** /'fiːlaɪn/ *adj, n* (of or like) a member of the cat family: *Lions and tigers are felines. | There is a feline grace about the way she moves.*
**Fe-lix the Cat** /ˌfiːlɪks ðə 'kæt/ a CARTOON character in films and newspapers, who first appeared in 1921. He is a black and white cat.
**fell**$^1$ /fel/ *past tense of* FALL
**fell**$^2$ *v* [T] **1** to cut down (a tree) **2** to knock down (a person): *He felled his opponent in the first round.*
**fell**$^3$ also **fells** *pl.* --- *n NengE* **1** high wild rocky country **2** a hill or mountain
**fell**$^4$ *adj* [A] **1** *lit* evil, dangerous, and terrible: *a fell disease* **2** **at/in one fell swoop** *infml* all at once: *The gambler lost his money, his car, and his home at one fell swoop.*
**fel-la** /'felə/ *n* [C] *infml* a man; a nonstandard way of writing the word 'fellow': *There was this fella leaning on my car.*
**fel-la-ti-o** /fə'leɪʃiəʊ/ *n* [U] *fml* the practice of touching the male sex organ with the lips and tongue in order to give sexual pleasure $\rightarrow$ compare CUNNILINGUS
**fel-ler** /'felə/ also **fella** *n infml* a FELLOW$^1$
**Fel-li-ni, Fed-e-ri-co** /fe'liːni, ˌfedə'riːkəʊ/ (1920-93) an Italian film DIRECTOR who had an important influence on the cinema. His films, including *La Dolce Vita* (1960) and *Eight and a Half* (1963), often show a society where people are not moral, and are only interested in pleasure.
**fel-low**$^1$ /'feləʊ/ *n* **1** *old-fash a man*: *See if those fellows want some beer.* | *How are you, old fellow?* **2 [(of)]** *BrE* a member of a society connected with some branch of learning or of certain university colleges: *a Fellow of the Royal Society* | *She's a fellow of Girton College.* **3** (*often in comb.*) someone with whom one shares a (stated) activity or spends time in a (stated) place: *She and I were schoolfellows. (=were at school together)*
**fellow**$^2$ *adj* [A] another (of two or more things or people like oneself): *one's fellow travellers/prisoners/students* | *It's nice to meet a fellow jazz fan.*
**,fellow 'feeling** *n* [S;U (for, with)] understanding and sympathy for someone who is like or has had similar experiences as oneself: *I have a lot of/a certain fellow feeling with her because she's a migrant like me.*
**fel-low-man, fellow-man** /ˌfeləʊ'mæn/ *n pl.* **-men** /-'men/ [S] human beings considered as a group: *charitable organizations which aim to help their fellowman*
**fel-low-ship** /'feləʊʃɪp/ *n* **1** [C] a group or society of people with a shared interest, especially a group of Christians who meet together regularly to worship **2** [U] the condition of being friends through sharing or doing something together; companionship: *There was a strong feeling of fellowship amongst the members of the team.* **3** [C] *BrE* the position of a fellow of a college **4** [C] the money given to GRADUATES to allow them to continue their studies at an advanced level **5** [C] a group of officials who decide who is to receive this money
**fellow 'traveller** *n* **1** someone who is travelling with you **2** *usually derog* someone who is sympathetic to the aims of the Communist Party without being actually a member **3** someone who shares an idea or system of ideas which is believed in by only a small group of people: *During the mid-1980s several people were mentioned as Supreme Court nominees, along with such fellow travelers as Robert Bork.*
**fells** /felz/ *n* [P] FELL
**fel-on** /'felən/ *n* **1** *law* a criminal guilty of felony **2** a WHITLOW
**fel-o-ny** /'feləni/ *n* [C;U] *law* (a) serious crime such as murder or armed robbery: *guilty of felony* | *felony charges* $\rightarrow$ compare MISDEMEANOUR **--nious** /fə'ləʊniəs/ *adj*
**fel-spar** /'felspɑː/ *n* [U] FELDSPAR
**felt**$^1$ /felt/ *past tense & participle of* FEEL
**felt**$^2$ *n* [U] thick firm cloth made of wool, hair, or fur that has been pressed flat: *a felt hat*
# feminism
**,felt-tip 'pen** also **,felt-tipped 'pen, 'felt tip** *n* a pen with a small piece of felt at the end instead of a NIB
**fem.** *written abbrev. for* FEMININE
**fe-male**$^1$ /'fiːmeɪl/ *adj* **1** (typical) of the sex that gives birth to young: *a female elephant* | *This company employs 230 female workers. | the female form* **2** (of a plant or flower) producing fruit **3** *tech* having a hole made to receive a part that fits into it: *a female plug* **--ness** *n* [U]
**female**$^2$ *n* **1** a female person or animal: *The female sat on the eggs while the male bird brought food.* **2** *often derog a woman*: *Some idiotic female asked me to sign an anti-government petition today.* **3** The female of the species is more deadly than the male *quote* a phrase from a poem by Rudyard Kipling, often used when saying how cruel women are
**[USAGE]** **Female** and **male** are used as nouns and adjectives to show what sex a creature is. They are the usual words to use about animals: *a male/female elephant* | *The females are often more aggressive than the males.* They are the right words to use when you are completing forms: *Sex: male/female* but otherwise are not usually used about people. It is offensive to call a woman a **female**. $\rightarrow$ see also FEMININE (USAGE)
**,Female 'Eunuch, The** (1970) a book by Germaine GREER which is considered to be one of the most important books of the WOMEN'S MOVEMENT
**fem-i-dom** /'femɪdɒm||-dɑːm/ *trademark* a loose rubber tube with one end closed that fits inside a woman's VAGINA when she is having sex, so that she will not have a baby
**fem-i-nine** /'femɪnɪn/ *adj* **1** of or having the qualities considered womanly, for example gentleness and prettiness: *a room decorated in feminine pinks and pastels* | *He has a rather feminine voice.* **2** *tech* (in grammar) for or belonging to the class of words that usually includes most of the words for females: *'Actress' is the feminine form of 'actor'. | The word for 'door' is feminine in German.* | *a feminine ending* $\rightarrow$ compare MASCULINE, NEUTER
**[USAGE]** Compare **male/female** and **masculine/feminine**. **Female** and **male** are used to show what sex a creature is: *a male chimpanzee*. They are also used when talking about things which relate to one sex or the other: *The female voice tends to be higher than the male voice. | the male/female body*. **Feminine** and **masculine** are used only of people, to describe qualities which are supposed to be typical of one or other sex: *He has delicate feminine hands. | He is a very masculine sort of person. | She has a deep masculine voice.*
**,Feminine Mys'tique, The** (1963) a book by Betty FRIEDAN which discusses the way women behave in US society. It is considered to be one of the books that started the WOMEN'S MOVEMENT in the 1960s.
**fem-i-nin-i-ty** /ˌfemɪ'nɪnɪti/ *n* [U] *usually approc* the quality of being FEMININE especially when considered attractive to men
**fem-i-nis-m** /'femɪnɪzəm/ *n* [U] (activity in support of) the principle that women should have the same rights and chances as men **--nist** *adj, n*: *the feminist movement | feminist issues/fiction | an ardent feminist*
**CULTURAL NOTE** **Feminism** and the WOMEN'S MOVEMENT have tried to change the way women are treated by men and by society. Compared with the past, women today have better job and educational opportunities, and are better paid than they were. Feminism has also made people think more about how women and men share work in the home and when raising children. It has also made people think more about problems such as SEXUAL HARASSMENT at work, and the way that women are shown in magazines and newspapers, in advertisements, and on television. Feminism has helped make more people aware of these problems, but some things have not changed very much. For example, women still do most of the work in the house, even if they have paid jobs. Women have not achieved equal political power, and there are still fewer women than men in senior jobs. People often talk about the GLASS CEILING, which refers to the limit that prevents successful women from getting the most powerful jobs in an organization.