feme sole

feme sole

A woman who is a feme sole manages her own business.

Definition
  1. Noun (Legal term):
    • An unmarried woman: "feme sole" refers to a woman who is not married, including those who are single, widowed, or divorced. In historical legal contexts, it denoted a woman with full legal capacity to own property, enter contracts, or sue and be sued independently, unlike a married woman (feme covert) whose legal rights were subsumed by her husband.
Usage Examples
  • (A single woman had independent legal rights.)
  • (A widow acquired full legal autonomy.)
Advanced Usage
  • "feme sole trader": a historical term for an unmarried woman who engaged in commerce or trade, recognized as legally independent.
    • The records show that the feme sole trader successfully sued a merchant for breach of contract. (She acted as a legally recognized businessperson.)
Variants and Related Words

  • Feme covert (n): a married woman, whose legal rights were merged with her husband's under common law.

    • Under coverture, a feme covert could not own property separately from her husband. (A married woman lacked independent legal standing.)

  • Coverture (n): the legal doctrine that subsumed a married woman's rights under her husband's authority.

    • The principle of coverture was gradually abolished in the 19th century. (The doctrine of marital legal unity.)
Synonyms
  • Spinster: a historical term for an unmarried woman, often implying older age.
  • Unmarried woman: a neutral, modern term for a woman who is not married.
Related Idioms
  • Feme sole status: the legal condition of being an unmarried woman with full rights.
    • She regained her feme sole status after the divorce was finalized. (She became legally independent again.)
Etymology
  • Derived from Anglo-Norman French: "feme" (woman) + "sole" (alone, single), reflecting the legal concept of a woman acting alone in law.
Historical Context
  • The term "feme sole" was used in English common law from the medieval period until the late 19th century, when married women's property acts gradually granted married women similar legal independence. It is now largely obsolete in modern legal usage but appears in historical documents and discussions of women's legal history.