womman

Middle English

Alternative forms

• woman, wommane, womane, womanne, wommon, womon, wommone, woymon, wouman, wimman, wymman, wimmane, wymmanne, wiman, wyman, wimon, wimmon, wimmonne, wymmone, wumman, wuiman, waman, wemon, whoman, wifman, wifmanne, wyfman, wyfmanne, wifmon, voman, vomman, vymman, vifman, vyfman, wman, wmmon, wmmone, ummanne

Etymology

From Old English wiman, wimman, wīfmann (“woman; female servant”, literally “female person; female human being”), equivalent to wyf (“woman, wife”) +‎ man (“man, person”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwuman/, /ˈwivman/, /ˈwiman/

Noun

womman (plural wommen)

1. A female adult person; a woman.
2. The female sex in general.
3. The state of being a woman; womanhood.
   • South English Legendary: St. Lucy

     hire to wommane brouȝte

Related terms

• man
• wommanhede
• wommankin
• wommankynde
• wommanles
• wommanly
• wommanyssh

 

Descendants

• English: woman
  • Antigua and Barbuda Creole English: uman
  • Aukan: uman
  • Jamaican Creole: ooman
  • Krio: uman
  • Sranan Tongo: uma; oema (superseded)
  • Torres Strait Creole: oman
  • → Japanese: ウーマン (ūman)
  • → Korean: 우먼 (umeon)
  • → Volapük: vom
• English: -woman
  • → French: -woman
• Scots: woman, weman

References

• “womman, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-06.