In this paper, I aim to analyse the meaning of the Latin words effēmināre, effēminātus and effēminātē in Latin texts from the Classical period until the second century A.D.. These Latin words were borrowed by several modern languages (fr. efféminer, effeminé ; angl. to effeminate, effeminated ; it. effeminato) which often refer to a man whose attitudes and behaviour do not correspond with the norms of social masculinity. Sometimes the French efféminé and its equivalents in other modern languages are used to denote homosexual men in an euphemistic way. Is this the case with Latin words ? Do they also have these meanings ? By starting from the formation of the verb effēmināre as a compound word (ex- + -fēmin- + -āre), expressing a change of state (Brachet 2000), we can see that these words indeed denote a change of state, an alteration of manliness towards womanly morals, but are also used in a « static » way to bring into disrepute and even insult men who do not conform to gender expectations.