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11 dictionary results for: woman
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
wom·an 
[woom-uhn] Pronunciation Key noun, plural wom·en
[wim-in] Pronunciation Key, verb, adjective
—Related forms
[woom-uhn] Pronunciation Key noun, plural wom·en
[wim-in] Pronunciation Key, verb, adjective –noun
–verb (used with object)
–adjective
—Idiom
| 1. | the female human being (distinguished from man). |
| 2. | an adult female person. |
| 3. | a female attendant to a lady of rank. |
| 4. | a wife. |
| 5. | the nature, characteristics, or feelings often attributed to women; womanliness. |
| 6. | a sweetheart or paramour; mistress. |
| 7. | a female employee or representative: A woman from the real estate agency called. |
| 8. | a female person who cleans house, cooks, etc.; housekeeper: The woman will be in to clean today. |
| 9. | women collectively: Woman is no longer subordinate to man. |
| 10. | to put into the company of a woman. |
| 11. | to equip or staff with women. |
| 12. | Obsolete. to cause to act or yield like a woman. |
| 13. | of women; womanly. |
| 14. | female: a woman plumber. |
| 15. | be one's own woman, (of females) to be free from restrictions, control, or dictatorial influence; be independent. |
[Origin: bef. 900; ME womman, wimman, OE wīfman, equiv. to wīf female + man human being; see wife, man1]
] —Related forms
wom·an·less, adjective
—Synonyms Woman, female, lady are nouns referring to adult human beings who are biologically female; that is, capable of bearing offspring. Woman is the general term. It is neutral, lacking either favorable or unfavorable implication, and is the most commonly used of the three: a wealthy woman; a woman of strong character, of unbridled appetites. In scientific, statistical, and other objective use, female is the neutral contrastive term to male and may apply to plants and animals also: 104 females to every 100 males; Among lions, the female is the chief hunter. Female is sometimes used in disparaging contexts: a gossipy female; a conniving female. Lady meaning “refined, polite woman” is a term of approval or praise: a real lady in all things; to behave like a lady.
—Usage note 2. Although formerly woman was sometimes regarded as demeaning and lady was the term of courtesy, woman is the designation preferred by most modern female adults: League of Women Voters; American Association of University Women. Woman is the standard feminine parallel to man. As a modifier of a plural noun, woman, like man, is exceptional in that the plural form women is used: women athletes; women students. The use of lady as a term of courtesy has diminished somewhat in recent years (the lady of the house), although it still survives in a few set phrases (ladies' room; Ladies' Day). Lady is also used, but decreasingly, as a term of reference for women engaged in occupations considered by some to be menial or routine: cleaning lady; saleslady. See also girl, lady, -woman.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| wom·an
(wŏŏm'ən) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. wom·en (wĭm'ĭn)
[Middle English, from Old English wimman, variant of wīfman : wīf, woman; see ghwībh- in Indo-European roots + man, person; see man.] wom'an·less adj. |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
woman
woman
late O.E. wimman (pl. wimmen), lit. "woman-man," alteration of wifman (pl. wifmen), a compound of wif "woman" (see wife) + man "human being" (in O.E. used in ref. to both sexes; see man). Cf. Du. vrouwmens "wife," lit. "woman-man." The formation is peculiar to Eng. and Du. Replaced older O.E. wif, quean as the word for "female human being." The pronunciation of the singular altered in M.E. by the rounding influence of -w-; the plural retains the original vowel. Meaning "wife," now largely restricted to U.S. dial. use, is attested from c.1450. Women's liberation is attested from 1966; women's rights is from 1840, with an isolated example in 1632. Verb womanize originally (1593) meant "to make effeminate;" sense of "to chase women, to go wenching" is attested from 1893.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| woman | |
noun | |
| 1. | an adult female person (as opposed to a man); "the woman kept house while the man hunted" [ant: adult male] |
| 2. | 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" [ant: man] |
| 3. | 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" [syn: charwoman] |
| 4. | women as a class; "it's an insult to American womanhood"; "woman is the glory of creation"; "the fair sex gathered on the veranda" [syn: womanhood] |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Cite This Source - Share This
woman tool
A replacement for the Unix man documentation browsing command. Version 1.157 of woman runs under/on 386BSD, OSF, Apollo Domain/OS, BSD, HP-UX, IBM RS-6000, Irix, Linux, Solaris, Sony NEWS, SunOS, Ultrix, Unicos.
Posted to comp.sources.reviewed Volume 3, Issue 50 on 05 Jul 1993 by Arne Henrik Juul
FTP USC, USA. FTP Imperial, UK.
(1995-03-21)
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Woman
Wife\, n.; pl. Wives. [OE. wif, AS. wif; akin to OFries. & OS. wif, D. wijf, G. weib, OHG. w[=i]b, Icel. v[=i]f, Dan. viv; and perhaps to Skr. vip excited, agitated, inspired, vip to tremble, L. vibrare to vibrate, E. vibrate. Cf. Tacitus, [" Germania" 8]: Inesse quin etiam sanctum aliquid et providum putant, nec aut consilia earum aspernantur aut responsa neglegunt. Cf. Hussy a jade, Woman.]1. A woman; an adult female; -- now used in literature only in certain compounds and phrases, as alewife, fishwife, goodwife, and the like. " Both men and wives." --Piers Plowman. On the green he saw sitting a wife. --Chaucer. 2. The lawful consort of a man; a woman who is united to a man in wedlock; a woman who has a husband; a married woman; -- correlative of husband. " The husband of one wife." --1 Tin. iii. 2. Let every one you . . . so love his wife even as himself, and the wife see that she reverence her husband. --Eph. v. 33. To give to wife, To take to wife, to give or take (a woman) in marriage. Wife's equity (Law), the equitable right or claim of a married woman to a reasonable and adequate provision, by way of settlement or otherwise, out of her choses in action, or out of any property of hers which is under the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery, for the support of herself and her children. --Burrill.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Woman
Wom"an\, n.; pl. Women. [OE. woman, womman, wumman, wimman, wifmon, AS. w[=i]fmann, w[=i]mmann; w[=i]f 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.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Woman
was "taken out of man" (Gen. 2:23), and therefore the man has the preeminence. "The head of the woman is the man;" but yet honour is to be shown to the wife, "as unto the weaker vessel" (1 Cor. 11:3, 8, 9; 1 Pet. 3:7). Several women are mentioned in Scripture as having been endowed with prophetic gifts, as Miriam (Ex. 15:20), Deborah (Judg. 4:4, 5), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14), Noadiah (Neh. 6:14), Anna (Luke 2:36, 37), and the daughters of Philip the evangelist (Acts 21:8, 9). Women are forbidden to teach publicly (1 Cor. 14:34, 35; 1 Tim. 2:11, 12). Among the Hebrews it devolved upon women to prepare the meals for the household (Gen. 18:6; 2 Sam. 13:8), to attend to the work of spinning (Ex. 35:26; Prov. 31:19), and making clothes (1 Sam. 2:19; Prov. 31:21), to bring water from the well (Gen. 24:15; 1 Sam. 9:11), and to care for the flocks (Gen. 29:6; Ex. 2:16). The word "woman," as used in Matt. 15:28, John 2:4 and 20:13, 15, implies tenderness and courtesy and not disrespect. Only where revelation is known has woman her due place of honour assigned to her.
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
Acronym Finder, © 1988-2007 Mountain Data Systems
On-line Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
woman
woman: in CancerWEB's On-line Medical Dictionary
On-line Medical Dictionary, © 1997-98 Academic Medical Publishing & CancerWEB
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