womanhood

womanhood
    n 1: the state of being an adult woman [syn: {womanhood},
         {muliebrity}]
    2: women as a class; "it's an insult to American womanhood";
       "woman is the glory of creation"; "the fair sex gathered on
       the veranda" [syn: {womanhood}, {woman}, {fair sex}]
    3: the status of a woman
    

Womanhood \Wom"an*hood\, n.
   1. The state of being a woman; the distinguishing character
      or qualities of a woman, or of womankind.
      [1913 Webster]

            Unspotted faith, and comely womanhood. --Spenser.
      [1913 Webster]

            Perhaps the smile and the tender tone
            Came out of her pitying womanhood.    --Tennyson.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Women, collectively; womankind.
      [1913 Webster]
    

59 Moby Thesaurus words for "womanhood":
      adulthood, adultness, age of consent, distaff side, driving age,
      fair sex, female sex, femaleness, feminacy, feminality, femineity,
      feminineness, femininity, flower of age, full age, full bloom,
      full growth, fullgrownness, gentlewomanliness, girlishness,
      grown-upness, ladylikeness, legal age, legalis homo,
      little-girlishness, maidenhood, maidenliness, majority, manhood,
      manlihood, matronage, matronhood, matronliness, matronship,
      mature age, maturity, muliebrity, prime, prime of life, ripe age,
      riper years, second sex, softer sex, the eternal feminine,
      toga virilis, virility, weaker sex, weaker vessel, woman,
      womanishness, womanity, womankind, womanlihood, womanlikeness,
      womanliness, women, womenfolk, womenfolks, years of discretion