What does 석녀 (石女) literally mean?

 ANSWER: a stone (石) woman (女)

The Sino-Korean word 석녀 (石女) refers to a woman who is unable to have babies, but it literally means "stone (石) woman (女)." The pure Korean word is 돌계집, which can also translate as "stone (돌) woman (계집)."

Since the prefix 돌- can also mean "fake," as in 돌팔이 의사 (a quack doctor), 돌계집 can also translate as "a fake (돌) woman (계집)," suggesting that a woman is not a real woman unless she can have babies.

So, if Koreans traditionally believed women were not real women unless they could have babies, then it seems 돌계집 could also be used to refer to transsexual women, who also cannot have babies. Is there a pure Korean word for a transsexual woman?

By the way, the pure Korean word for "dolphin" or "porpoise" is 돌고래, which literally means "fake (돌) whale (고래)."

From Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary

From Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary