WOMAN

womanhood, woman, fair sex

(noun) women as a class; “it’s an insult to American womanhood”; “woman is the glory of creation”; “the fair sex gathered on the veranda”

charwoman, char, cleaning woman, cleaning lady, woman

(noun) a human female employed to do housework; “the char will clean the carpet”; “I have a woman who comes in four hours a day while I write”

woman, adult female

(noun) an adult female person (as opposed to a man); “the woman kept house while the man hunted”

woman

(noun) a female person who plays a significant role (wife or mistress or girlfriend) in the life of a particular man; “he was faithful to his woman”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

woman (plural women)

An adult female human.

(collective) All females collectively; womankind.

A female person, usually an adult; a (generally adult) female sentient being, whether human, supernatural, elf, alien, etc.

A wife (or sometimes a fiancée or girlfriend).

A female who is extremely fond of or devoted to a specified type of thing. (Used as the last element of a compound.)

A female attendant or servant.

Usage notes

The current pronunciation of the first vowel of the singular began to appear in western England in the 13th century under the rounding influence of the w, though the older pronunciation with /i/ (→ modern /ɪ/) remained in use into the 15th century. Although the vowel of the plural was sometimes also altered to /u/ (→ modern /ʊ/) beginning in the 14th century, the pronunciation with /ɪ/ ultimately won out there, possibly under the influence of pairs like foot-feet. However, many speakers (especially of New Zealand English or South African English) have either retained or reinnovated the pronunciation of the plural with /ʊ/. The modern spelling women for the plural is due to influence of the singular; it is attested from the 15th century.

For a time in the 16th and 17th centuries, the pronunciation of the singular sometimes drifted even further back towards /uː/ or /ɔː~oː/ (→ modern /oʊ~əʊ/) and the plural sometimes drifted even further forward towards /iː/, leading to comparisons of the words to "woe man" or "we men".

Synonyms

• lady; female (sometimes offensive); see more at woman

Hypernyms

• man (broad sense), human

Hyponyms

• advance woman

• aircraftswoman

• airwoman

• almswoman

• antiwoman

• apewoman

• artillerywoman

• axewoman

• bargewoman

• barwoman

• basewoman

• basketwoman

• beggarwoman

• black widow

• blueswoman

• boatwoman

• bondwoman

• bowerwoman

• bowwoman

• brakewoman

• businesswoman

• butt-woman

• camerawoman

• careerwoman

• cattlewoman

• catwoman

• cavewoman

• chairwoman

• charwoman

• cis woman

• clergywoman

• clubwoman

• coachwoman

• comfort woman

• committeewoman

• con woman

• Cornishwoman

• councilwoman

• counterwoman

• countrywoman

• craftswoman

• crewwoman

• cunning woman

• dairywoman

• deliverywoman

• doorwoman

• Dutchwoman

• Earthwoman

• enwoman

• ferrywoman

• firewoman

• first woman

• fisherwoman

• fishwoman

• flagwoman

• forewoman

• freedwoman

• Frenchwoman

• fussock

• garbage woman

• gatewoman

• gentlewoman

• gleewoman

• groundswoman

• guardswoman

• gunwoman

• hangwoman

• helmswoman

• henchwoman

• herbwoman

• hillwoman

• horsewoman

• Irishwoman

• jazzwoman

• kept woman

• laundrywoman

• leatherwoman

• liegewoman

• lineswoman

• little woman

• lobsterwoman

• loose woman

• madwoman

• markswoman

• medicine woman

• merchantwoman

• merwoman

• middlewoman

• militiawoman

• milkwoman

• muscle woman

• needlewoman

• New Woman

• noblewoman

• nonwoman

• Norsewoman

• nurserywoman

• old lady

• old woman

• one-upwomanship

• other woman

• outdoorswoman

• penwoman

• plainswoman

• policewoman

• poultrywoman

• Proverbs woman

• public woman

• ranchwoman

• repairwoman

• riflewoman

• right-hand woman

• saleswoman

• scarlet woman

• Scotswoman

• selectwoman

• servicewoman

• shopwoman

• sidewoman

• signalwoman

• silkwoman

• snowwoman

• spacewoman

• spearwoman

• spokeswoman

• sportswoman

• stateswoman

• steerswoman

• stockwoman

• storewoman

• strange woman

• strongwoman

• stunt woman

• stuntwoman

• superwoman

• swordswoman

• tirewoman

• townswoman

• toywoman

• tradeswoman

• triggerwoman

• Ulsterwoman

• unwoman

• warehousewoman

• washerwoman

• washwoman

• watchwoman

• weatherwoman

• woman of easy virtue

• woman of ill repute

• woman of science

• woman of the street

• Wonder Woman

• workwoman

• yachtswoman

• Yorkshirewoman

Coordinate terms

• (gender): man

• (age): girl

Verb

woman (third-person singular simple present womans, present participle womaning, simple past and past participle womaned)

To staff with female labor.

(transitive) To make effeminate or womanish.

(transitive) To furnish with, or unite to, a woman.

(transitive) To call (a person) "woman" in a disrespectful fashion.

Source: Wiktionary

Wom"an n.; pl. Women. Etym: [OE. woman, womman, wumman, wimman, wifmon, AS. wifmann, wimmann; wif woman, wife + mann a man. See Wife, and Man.]

1. An adult female person; a grown-up female person, as distinguished from a man or a child; sometimes, any female person. Women are soft, mild pitiful, and flexible. Shak. And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman. Gen. ii. 22. I have observed among all nations that the women ornament themselves more than the men; that, wherever found, they are the same kind, civil, obliging, humane, tender beings, inclined to be gay and cheerful, timorous and modest. J. Ledyard.

2. The female part of the human race; womankind. Man is destined to be a prey to woman. Thackeray.

3. A female attendant or servant. " By her woman I sent your message." Shak. Woman hater, one who hates women; one who has an aversion to the female sex; a misogynist. Swift.

Wom"an, v. t.

1. To act the part of a woman in; -- with indefinite it. Daniel.

2. To make effeminate or womanish. [R.] Shak.

3. To furnish with, or unite to, a woman. [R.] "To have him see me woman'd." Shak.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

WOMAN

Etymology

Noun

Usage notes

Synonyms

Hypernyms

Hyponyms

Coordinate terms

Verb

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