woman
woman - English
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA: /ˈwʊm.ən/
- (US, dialectal) IPA: /ˈwoʊ.mən/, [ˈwo.mɪn]
- (New Zealand) IPA: /ˈwʊm.ɘn/
- Hyphenation: wom‧an
- Homophone: women (some dialects, common in New Zealand and South Africa)
Noun
woman (plural women)
- An adult female human.
- (collective) All female humans 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 person 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".)
Alternative forms
- (feminist spellings; very rare:) (singular:) womxn, womyn, (plural:) womxn, womyn, wymyn
- (eye dialect, sometimes also used as feminist spellings:) (singular:) womin, wommon (also obsolete), womon (plural:) wimin, wimmin, wimmen, wymmyn
- (obsolete, 17th c.) weoman
- (obsolete) whoman
- (plural, informal or obsolete) wimen
- (plural, nonstandard, proscribed) womans
- (plural, nonstandard, African-American Vernacular) womens
Synonyms
Hypernyms
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
Derived terms
- a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle, a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle
- behind every successful man there stands a woman
- dewomanise
- dewomanize
- once a woman, twice a child
- transwoman, trans woman
- -woman
- woman-born-woman
- woman-fashion
- womance
- womanchild
- womanese
- womanfully
- womanhandle
- womanhater, woman-hater, woman hater
- womanhating
- womanhead
- womanhood
- womanhunt
- womanifesto
- womanish
- womanism
- womanist
- womanize
- womanizer
- womankind
- womanless
- womanlike
- womanly
- womannap
- womanness
- womanpower
- womanservant
- womanthrope
- womanward
- womban
- womenfolk
Related terms
Descendants
Translations
Verb
woman (third-person singular simple present womans, present participle womaning or womanning, simple past and past participle womaned or womanned)
- 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.
Translations
|
Adjective
woman (not comparable)
- (particularly Nigeria, India, sometimes proscribed) Of or relating to a woman/women; female.
Usage notes
American grammarians and style guides often proscribe/reject the usage of woman as an adjective.
woman - Czech
Pronunciation
- IPA: [ˈvoman]
Noun
woman m inan
- obsolete form of oman (“elecampane”), obsolete spelling of voman (“elecampane”)
Declension
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | woman | womany |
| genitive | womanu | womanů |
| dative | womanu | womanům |
| accusative | woman | womany |
| vocative | womane | womany |
| locative | womanu | womanech |
| instrumental | womanem | womany |
woman - Middle English
Noun
woman (plural women)
- Alternative form of womman
woman - Upper Sorbian
Pronunciation
- IPA: [ˈu̯oman]
Noun
woman m
- inula, elecampane (Inula spp., especially Inula helenium)
Declension
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | woman | womanaj | womany |
| Genitive | womanu | womanow | womanow |
| Dative | womanej | womanomaj | womanam |
| Accusative | woman | womanaj | womany |
| Instrumental | womanom | womanomaj | womanami |
| Locative | womanje | womanomaj | womanach |
| Vocative | woman | womanaj | womany |