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Origin and history of woman

woman(n.)

"adult female human," Middle English womman, from late Old English wimman, wiman (plural wimmen), literally "woman-man," an alteration of earlier wifman (plural wifmen) "woman; female servant" (8c.). This is a compound of wif, the older word for "woman" (see wife) + man in the sense of "human being" (see man (n.)).

It is notable that it was thought necessary to join wif, a neuter noun, representing a female person, to man, a masc. noun representing either a male or female person, to form a word denoting a female person exclusively. [Century Dictionary]

Compare Dutch vrouwmens "wife," literally "woman-man." The formation is peculiar to English and Dutch. In English it replaced wif and quean as "female human being," as in Jesus's answer to his mother, in Anglo-Saxon gospels la, wif, hwæt is me and þe? (John ii:4 "Woman, what have I to do with thee?").

The pronunciation altered in Middle English by the rounding influence of -w- (compare wood (n.), Old English wudu, earlier widu). The plural women retains the original vowel-sound. The spelling shift from wi- to wu- is attested by c. 1200, the scribal shift to wo- is by late 13c. (see come (v)). Century Dictionary (1891) suggested a spelling *womman "would be better," along with *woolf for wolf.

The meaning "wife," now largely restricted to U.S. dialectal use, is attested from mid-15c. In American English, lady is "In loose and especially polite usage, a woman" [Craigie, "Dictionary of American English"]. This peculiarity was commented upon by English travelers; in the U.S. the custom was considered especially Southern, but the English regarded it simply as American.

This noble word [woman], spirit-stirring as it passes over English ears, is in America banished, and 'ladies' and 'females' substituted; the one to English taste mawkish and vulgar; the other indistinctive and gross. The effect is odd. [Harriet Martineau, 1837]

Woman-hater "misogynist, one with an aversion to women generally," is from c. 1600. Women's work, that considered appropriate to women, is from 1660s.

Woman suffrage, women's suffrage is by 1867, when it was an issue in U.S. state elections. Women's movement is by 1902 (woman movement is by 1883). Women's liberation is attested by 1956 in communist writings; women's rights is from 1840, with an isolated example in 1630s. Womanism is by 1863.

The woman question "controversy over women's rights" is by 1838.

Among the much vexed questions of the day, what is technically called the woman question has a strong prominence. Not only has it been talked upon and written upon, but acted upon in real life. The words, that seemed a wonder and abomination in the mouth of Mary Wolstoncraft, have now become familiar sounds. ["The Woman Question" in Western Messenger, November 1838]

Entries linking to woman

come(v.)

elementary intransitive verb of motion, Old English cuman "to move with the purpose of reaching, or so as to reach, some point; to arrive by movement or progression;" also "move into view, appear, become perceptible; come to oneself, recover; arrive; assemble" (class IV strong verb; past tense cuom, com, past participle cumen), from Proto-Germanic *kwem- (source also of Old Saxon cuman, Old Frisian kuma, Middle Dutch comen, Dutch komen, Old High German queman, German kommen, Old Norse koma, Gothic qiman), from PIE root *gwa- "to go, come."

The substitution of Middle English -o- for Old English -u- was a scribal habit before minims to avoid misreading the letters in the old style handwriting, which jammed them together (see U). Modern past tense form came is Middle English, probably from Old Norse kvam, replacing Old English cuom.

Meaning "to happen, occur" is from early 12c. (come to pass "happen, occur" is from 1520s). As an invitation to action, c. 1300; as a call or appeal to a person (often in expanded forms: "come, come," "come, now"), mid-14c. Come again? as an off-hand way of asking "what did you say?" is attested by 1884. For sexual senses, see cum.

Remarkably productive with prepositions (NTC's "Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs" lists 198 combinations); consider the varied senses in come to "regain consciousness," come over "possess" (as an emotion), come at "attack," come on (interj.) "be serious," and come off "occur, have some level of success" (1864). Among other common expressions are:

To come down with "become ill with" (a disease), 1895; come in, of a radio operator, "begin speaking," 1958; come on "advance in growth or development," c. 1600; come out, of a young woman, "make a formal entry into society," 1782; come round "return to a normal state or better condition," 1841; come through "act as desired or expected," 1914; come up "arise as a subject of attention," 1844; come up with "produce, present," 1934.

To have it coming "deserve what one suffers" is from 1904. To come right down to it "get to fundamental facts" is from 1875.

lady(n.)

c. 1200, lafdi, lavede, from Old English hlæfdige (Northumbrian hlafdia, Mercian hlafdie), "mistress of a household, wife of a lord," apparently literally "one who kneads bread," from hlaf "bread" (see loaf (n.)) + -dige "maid," which is related to dæge "maker of dough" (which is the first element in dairy; see dey (n.1)). Also compare lord (n.)). Century Dictionary finds this etymology "improbable," and OED rates it "not very plausible with regard to sense," but no one seems to have a better explanation.

The medial -f- disappeared 14c. (compare woman, head, had). The word is not found outside English except where borrowed from it. The sense of "woman of superior position in society" is c. 1200; that of "woman whose manners and sensibilities befit her for high rank in society" is from 1861 (ladylike suggesting this sense is attested from 1580s, and ladily from c. 1400). The meaning "woman chosen as an object of chivalrous love" is from early 14c. Used commonly as an address to any woman since 1890s.

Applied since Old English to the Holy Virgin, hence many extended usages in plant names, place names, etc., from genitive singular hlæfdigan, which in Middle English merged with the nominative, so that lady- often represents (Our) Lady's, as in ladybug.

Lady Day (late 13c.) was the festival of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary (March 25). Ladies' man "one fond of the society of women and zealous in paying them petty attentions" is by 1690s (Shadwell, "The Volunteers"); lady-killer "man supposed to be dangerously fascinating to women" is from 1811. Lady of pleasure recorded from 1640s. Lady's slipper as a type of orchid is from 1590s.