An Etymology Study of “Woman”

【Abstract】There is a unique history of evolution behind every single word surviving into Modern English. This paper is to explore the etymology and history of evolution of the word “woman” in terms of spelling （form）， pronunciation， gender， part of speech， and meaning. Also discussed are the reasons that cause the changes on all aforementioned aspects of the word “woman”.

【Key words】woman； etymology； Old English； Middle English； Modern English

1. Introduction

The English language is characteristic of its cosmopolitan vocabulary that contains a large number of borrowings from many other languages. During the past 1500 years， English has never ceased evolving and changing： old words die out， new words are coined or borrowed， and existing words change meanings， which makes English a flexible and living language. There is a unique history of evolution behind every single word surviving into Modern English. This paper is to explore the etymology and history of evolution of the word “woman” in terms of spelling （form）， pronunciation， gender， part of speech， and meaning. Also discussed are the reasons that cause the changes on all aforementioned aspects of the word “woman”.

2. Spelling of “Woman”

The forms of the Modern English word “woman” and its plural “women” date back to Old English words “wīfman”， “wīfmann” （Etymological 1643） or “wīfmon”， and “wīfmen” respectively. These words are combinations of “wīf” and “man”， “mann” or “mon”， and “men”， which is a typical characteristic of Old English （Webster 2629）. According to Barnhart， the word “man” took several forms before 725 in Old English， such as “man”， “mann” and “mon” for singular， and “men” and “menn” for plural， therefore， it is not surprising to have “wīfman” in various forms in accordance with different forms of “man”. In Old English， the word “man” had two senses or meanings： human being in general， and “adult male human being”， while the primary sense of this word is “human being”. In that context， “wer” and “wīf” were used as gender markers to distinguish the sexes of male and female， but “wer” began to disappear by the late 1200s， and “man” was again used to indicate “adult， male human being” （627）.

3. Pronunciation of “Woman”

The spelling of a word is changing to meet the needs for simplification or the change of pronunciation. For instance， the word “wimman” and “wimmen” （plural） in Modern English， which developed from its counterpart “wīfman” and “wīfmen” demonstrates the assimilation of the consonant “f” to “m” （Barnhart 1242）. An example of the same alternation is found in the Oxford English Dictionary （OED）， volume XX： an Old English word “l(fā)éofman” evolved to Modern English word“l(fā)emman”（484）. By the time of about 1200s， the pronunciation of singular“wu-”and plural“wi-” became a feature of Western Middle English， and the form “womman” appeared in the later 13th century， and the plural form “wommen” in the late 14th century， which continued to change into “wōman” and “wēmen”. The pronunciation of “wu-” for singular and “wi-” for plural is probably the result of analogy of pairs like “foot” and “feet” （OED 484）.

4. Part of Speech of “Woman”

As for the part of speech of the word “woman”， it has been used as a noun and an adjective from the time of Old English， and later since the 17th century， it has been used as a transitive verb and an intransitive verb as well， with the tense inflection of -ed， and -ing. The meanings that are in use today include making someone behave like a woman， and provide with a staff of women， e.g.， “I spent my afternoon womaning up the douche label with some elegant Edwardian script and digitized sprigs of ivy”（OED）.

5. Gender of “Woman”

English was a language with grammatical gender in Old English period， but from Middle English up until now English has been a language with natural gender. The gender of a noun in Old English is not determined by the meaning and the natural sex， but rather it is restricted by the adjectives and the determinatives with various endings. Although the nouns related to males are often considered to be masculine， and nouns indicating females to be feminine， it can be quite illogical to infer the gender of neutral nouns like moon， sun， river， etc. However， the word “wīfmann”， which means woman， was masculine in Old English because the second word of this compound “man” is masculine （Baugh and Cable 58）. This explanation seems contradictory to the female gender marker “wīf”， maybe that's why it later became feminine in gender， which is logical and explainable considering the combination of the word： wīf （female） + man （human being）.

6. Meaning of “Woman”

A word is just a symbol and a combination of letters without senses and meanings； therefore， a word only makes sense to language users when it is associated with concepts， images or behaviors. To put it in other words， a word might be narrowed or extended in meaning in order to meet the needs of its users. Taking a closer look at the online OED， there found three features that demonstrate the change of meaning and use of the word “woman”. Firstly， several senses or meanings， which came into use in Old English， are still in use today. For example， the most popular one， “an adult female human being”， the counterpart of man； “women considered collectively”， used without the article in “abstract or generic sense”， or “in generative use： womanly， female， feminine”， which functions as an adjective to modify a noun， e.g.， woman doctor， woman scientist.

Secondly， new meanings keep emerging from specific context in different period of language development. For example， “woman” was used as a form of address that indicated “contempt”， “impatience”， and “exhortation” in the period of Middle English. Similarly， in the 15th century， “woman” was used mainly as a derogatory word indicating traditional woman attributes， such as “weakness”， “fickleness”， and “vanity”， e.g.， “Don't make such a fuss； you're as bad as a woman” （OED）. Almost around the same time， “woman” began to be used in contrast with “l(fā)ady”， which was a class marker of high social position and upper class. Because of this connotation of “woman” and “l(fā)ady”， it could be offensive to call a “l(fā)ady” “woman”， and embarrassing or baffling to call a “woman” “l(fā)ady”. The appropriateness of using “woman” or “l(fā)ady” as a title to address female people all lies in its context， but “l(fā)ady” is now used in a polite and genteel way to refer to women in general， as in the addressing： ladies and gentlemen （Webster 1681）. However， as for the question of which is better as a gender indicator in an occupational title， it is widely accepted that either “female” or “woman” is a better choice than “l(fā)ady” in that “l(fā)ady” is usually considered arrogant， patronizing and inappropriate in this case （Heritage 775）. In the same vein， it is quoted in Webster's Dictionary of English Usage that “[i]n most contexts， this word [lady] is perceived as （and often is） condescending”， therefore， we should avoid using these two words interchangeably （582）.

Lastly， some meanings developed from the period of Middle English are becoming rare or obsolete now. As recorded in online OED， three of the four extended uses （after the 15th century） of the word “woman” are either rarely used or outdated in modern English， such as “woman” referring to female plant， animals and the reverse side of a coin.

7. Conclusion

Like the English language， the word “woman” is always changing from Old English up to Modern English. Even though it seems that this word is standardized and stable in terms of its spelling and pronunciation， it is very likely to hear slightly different pronunciations in the context of world Englishes， which should be considered as linguistic diversity rather than a deficit. With the development of the society and the increasing awareness of equal rights between men and women， it is expected that there will be continuous evolution of the word “woman” with respect to its senses， meanings， collocations and uses in that a language is living and vigorous only when it is in use. As Baugh and Cable have stated， “[t]he history of a language is intimately bound up with the history of the peoples who speak it” （1）， the history of the word “woman” is actually the history of women and the society they are living in.

References：

[1]“Woman.” An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English.1967.Print.

[2]“Woman.” Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language.1956.Print.

[3]“Man.”The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology.1988.Print.

[4]“Woman.”The Oxford English Dictionary.2nd ed.1989.Print.

[5]“Woman.”O(jiān)xford English Dictionary.3rd ed.2011 Web.2 March.2014.

[6]Baugh，Albert，and Thomas Cable.A History of the English Language.5th ed.New Jersey：Pearson/Longman，2001.Print.

[7]“Lady.”The American Heritage College Dictionary.4th ed.2002.Print.

[8]“Lady.”Webster's Dictionary of English Usage.1989.Print.

作者簡介：李永仙（1980-），女，云南耿馬人，文山學院外國語學院講師，TESOL碩士，研究方向：二語習得及英語教學。