noun
- A woman or wife, especially in legal contexts (archaic or historical).
Usage: archaic; legal/historical; primarily used in the phrase 'feme covert' (a married woman) or 'feme sole' (an unmarried woman or widow with independent legal status)
Examples
- In medieval English law, a feme covert had limited property rights.
- A feme sole could conduct business independently without her husband's consent.
- The legal status of a feme changed upon marriage.
- Historical documents often distinguished between a feme covert and a feme sole.