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===Etymology===
===Etymology===
From {{der|pap|es|mano}}.
From {{der|pap|pt|mão}}.


===Noun===
===Noun===

Revision as of 17:26, 27 August 2021

See also: Appendix:Variations of "man", -man, and Man

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Middle English man, from Old English mann m (“human being, person, man”), from Proto-West Germanic *mann, from Proto-Germanic *mann- m (“human being, man”). Doublet of Manu.

Alternative forms

  • (singular): mang (dialectal rendering, suggesting a Spanish accent), mans (slang), mon (slang, used in the vocative, in places such as Jamaica and Shropshire in England), mxn (rare, feminist)
  • (plural): mans (Multicultural London English, Toronto, nonstandard, proscribed), mens (nonstandard, African-American Vernacular), mxn (rare, feminist), myn (very rare, chiefly humorous)
  • (interjection): maaan (elongated)

Noun

man (plural men)

  1. An adult male human.
    The show is especially popular with middle-aged men.
    • 1599, William Shakespeare, Henry V, act 4, scene 1:
      The king is but a man, as I am; the violet smells to him as it doth to me.
    • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
      “ […] it is not fair of you to bring against mankind double weapons ! Dangerous enough you are as woman alone, without bringing to your aid those gifts of mind suited to problems which men have been accustomed to arrogate to themselves.”
    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:man.
  2. (collective) All human males collectively: mankind.
    • 2011, Eileen Gray and the Design of Sapphic Modernity: Staying In, page 109:
      Unsurprisingly, if modern man is a sort of camera, modern woman is a picture.
  3. A human, a person regardless of gender, usually an adult. (See usage notes.)
    every man for himself
    • 1599, William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 2, act 4, scene 2:
      […] a man cannot make him laugh.
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Romans 12:17:
      Recompence to no man euill for euill.
    • 1624, John Donne, “17. Meditation”, in Deuotions upon Emergent Occasions, and Seuerall Steps in My Sicknes: […], London: Printed by A[ugustine] M[atthews] for Thomas Iones, →OCLC; republished as Geoffrey Keynes, edited by John Sparrow, Devotions upon Emergent Occasions: […], Cambridge: At the University Press, 1923, →OCLC, page 98, lines 2–3:
      No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe; every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; […]
    • c. 1700 Joseph Addison, Monaco, Genoa, &c., page 9:
      A man would expect, in so very ancient a town of Italy, to find some considerable antiquities; but all they have to show of this nature is an old Rostrum of a Roman ship, that stands over the door of their arsenal.
    • 1991 edition (original: 1953), Darell Huff, How to Lie with Statistics, pages 19–20:
      Similarly, the next time you learn from your reading that the average man (you hear a good deal about him these days, most of it faintly improbable) brushes his teeth 1.02 times a day—a figure I have just made up, but it may be as good as anyone else's – ask yourself a question. How can anyone have found out such a thing? Is a woman who has read in countless advertisements that non-brushers are social offenders going to confess to a stranger that she does not brush her teeth regularly?
    • 2021 January 20, Amanda Gorman, "The Hill We Climb":
      We are striving to forge our union with purpose. To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and conditions of man.
  4. (collective) All humans collectively: mankind, humankind, humanity. (Sometimes capitalized as Man.)
    • 1647, Westminster Shorter Catechism, question 10:
      How did God create man?
      God created man male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures.
    • 1991, Barry J. Blake, Australian Aboriginal Languages: A General Introduction, page 75:
      Academics who study Aboriginal languages are [...] contributing to Man’s search for knowledge, a search that interests most people even if they are not personally involved in it.
    • 2013 July 20, “Old soldiers?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
      Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine. The machine gun is so much more lethal than the bow and arrow that comparisons are meaningless.
  6. (anthropology, archaeology, paleontology) A member of the genus Homo, especially of the species Homo sapiens.
    • 1990, The Almanac of Science and Technology →ISBN, page 68:
      The evidence suggests that close relatives of early man, in lineages that later became extinct, also were able to use tools.
  7. A male person, usually an adult; a (generally adult male) sentient being, whether human, supernatural, elf, alien, etc.
    • c. 1500 A Gest of Robyn Hode, in the Child Ballads:
      For God is holde a ryghtwys man.
    • 1599, William Shakespeare, Much Ado about Nothing, act 3, scene 5:
      God's a good man.
    • 1609, Ben Jonson, Epicœne, or The silent woman:
      Expect: But was the devil a proper man, gossip?
      As fine a gentleman of his inches as ever I saw trusted to the stage, or any where else.
    • 2008, Christopher Paolini, Brisingr: Or The Seven Promises of Eragon Shadeslayer and Saphira Bjartskular - Inheritance Book Three (→ISBN), page 549:
      Clearing a space between the tables, the men tested their prowess against one another with feats of wrestling and archery and bouts with quarterstaves. Two of the elves, a man and a woman, demonstrated their skill with swordplay— […]
    • 2014, Oisin McGann, Kings of the Realm: Cruel Salvation, Penguin UK (→ISBN):
      There was a pair of burly dwarves – a woman and a man – bearing the markings of the formidable Thane Guards.
  8. An adult male who has, to an eminent degree, qualities considered masculine, such as strength, integrity, and devotion to family; a mensch.
    • 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, “In The Enemy’s Camp”, in Treasure Island, London, Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC, part VI (Captain Silver), page 234:
      He’s more a man than any pair of rats of you in this here house […]
    • 2011, Timothy Shephard, Can We Help Us?: Growing Up Bi-Racial in America →ISBN, page 181:
      I had the opportunity to marry one of them but wasn't mature enough to be a man and marry her and be close to the […] children and raise them […].
  9. (uncountable, obsolete, uncommon) Manliness; the quality or state of being manly.
  10. A husband.
    • Book of Common Prayer:
      I pronounce that they are man and wife.
    • 1715, Joseph Addison, The Freeholder:
      In the next place, every wife ought to answer for her man.
  11. A lover; a boyfriend.
  12. A male enthusiast or devotee; a male who is very fond of or devoted to a specified kind of thing. (Used as the last element of a compound.)
    Some people prefer apple pie, but me, I’m a cherry pie man.
  13. A person, usually male, who has duties or skills associated with a specified thing. (Used as the last element of a compound.)
    I wanted to be a guitar man on a road tour, but instead I’m a flag man on a road crew.
  14. A person, usually male, who can fulfill one's requirements with regard to a specified matter.
    • 2007, Thriller: Stories to Keep You Up All Night →ISBN, page 553:
      "She's the man for the job."
    • 2008, Soccer Dad: A Father, a Son, and a Magic Season →ISBN, page 148:
      Joanie volunteered, of course — if any dirty job is on offer requiring running, she's your man —
    • 2012, The Island Caper: A Jake Lafferty Action Novel →ISBN, page 34:
      He also owns the only backhoe tractor on Elbow Cay, so whenever anyone needs a cistern dug, he's their man.
  15. A male who belongs to a particular group: an employee, a student or alumnus, a representative, etc.
    • 1909, Harper's Weekly, volume 53, page iii:
      When President Roosevelt goes walking in the country about Washington he is always accompanied by two Secret Service men.
    • 1913, Robert Herrick, One Woman's Life, page 46:
      "And they're very good people, I assure you — he's a Harvard man." It was the first time Milly had met on intimate terms a graduate of a large university.
  16. An adult male servant.
  17. (historical) A vassal; a subject.
    Like master, like man.
    (old proverb)
    all the king's men
    • c. 1700s William Blackstone:
      The vassal, or tenant, kneeling, ungirt, uncovered, and holding up his hands between those of his lord, professed that he did become his man from that day forth, of life, limb, and earthly honour.
    • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
      No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or otherwise his man would be there with a message to say that his master would shortly join me if I would kindly wait.
  18. A piece or token used in board games such as chess.
    • 1883, Henry Richter, Chess Simplified!, page 4:
      The white men are always put on that side of the board which commences by row I, and the black men are placed opposite.
  19. (MLE, slang) Used to refer to oneself or one's group: I, we; construed in the third person.
    • 2011, Top Boy:
      Sully: If it weren’t for that snake ... Man wouldn’t even be in this mess right now.
  20. A term of familiar address often implying on the part of the speaker some degree of authority, impatience, or haste.
    Come on, man, we've got no time to lose!
  21. A friendly term of address usually reserved for other adult males.
    Hey, man, how's it goin'?
  22. (sports) A player on whom another is playing, with the intent of limiting their attacking impact.
    • 2018 Dinny Navaratnam, Andrews will learn from experience: Fagan Brisbane Lions, 30 July 2018. Accessed 6 August 2018.
      "It was a brutal return to football for Brisbane Lions defender Harris Andrews as his man Tom Hawkins booted seven goals but Lions Coach Chris Fagan said the team's defensive faults, rather than the backman's, allowed the big Cat to dominate."
Usage notes
  • The use of “man” (compare Old English: mann, wer, wīf) to mean both “human (of any gender)” and “adult male”, which developed after Old English’s distinct term for the latter (wer) fell out of use, has been criticized since at least the second half of the twentieth century.[1] Critics claim that the use of “man”, both alone and in compounds, to denote a human or any gender “is now often regarded as sexist or at best old-fashioned”,[1] “flatly discriminatory in that it slights or ignores the membership of women in the human race”.[2] The American Heritage Dictionary wrote that in 2004 75-79% of their usage panel still accepted sentences with generic man, and 86-87% accepted sentences with man-made.[3] Some style guides recommend against generic “man”,[4] and “although some editors and writers reject or disregard [...] objections to man as a generic, many now choose instead to use” human, human being or person instead.[2]
    • This generic usage is still preserved in certain dialects, pidgins, and creoles of English, as well as fixed expressions and certain religious documents and declarations such as the Nicene Creed (e.g. "...for us men and our salvation..."). Consideration of this has sometimes led to accusations of the critics of the generic man as enforcing linguistic prescriptivism.
  • See also the man
Synonyms
Coordinate terms
Derived terms
Related terms
Descendants

See also descendants of -man.

  • Tok Pisin: man
  • → Chinese: man
  • → Chinook Jargon: man
  • → Korean: 맨 (maen)
  • → Spanish: man
  • → Thai: แมน (mɛɛn)
  • → Volapük: man
Translations
See man/translations § Noun.
See also

Adjective

man (not comparable)

  1. Only used in man enough

Interjection

man

  1. Used to place emphasis upon something or someone; sometimes, but not always, when actually addressing a man.
    Man, that was a great catch!
    • 2019 August 15, Bob Stanley, “'Groovy, groovy, groovy': listening to Woodstock 50 years on – all 38 discs”, in The Guardian‎[1]:
      The 19 meandering minutes of Dark Star are attractive enough but, man, they go on, while poor Creedence Clearwater Revival – headliners, with Bad Moon Rising still in the charts – are watching the clock tick in the wings.
    • For quotations using this term, see Citations:man.
Translations
See man/translations § Interjection.

Etymology 2

From Middle English mannen, from Old English mannian, ġemannian (“to man, supply with men, populate, garrison”), from mann (“human being, man”). Cognate with Dutch bemannen (“to man”), German bemannen (“to man”), Swedish bemanna (“to man”), Icelandic manna (“to supply with men, man”).

Verb

man (third-person singular simple present mans, present participle manning, simple past and past participle manned)

  1. (transitive) To supply (something) with staff or crew (of either sex).
    The ship was manned with a small crew.
  2. (transitive) To take up position in order to operate (something).
    Man the machine guns!
  3. (reflexive, possibly dated) To brace (oneself), to fortify or steel (oneself) in a manly way. (Compare man up.)
    • 1876, Julian Hawthorne, Saxon Studies:
      he manned himself heroically
  4. (transitive, obsolete) To wait on, attend to or escort.
  6. (transitive, obsolete, chiefly falconry) To accustom (a raptor or other type of bird) to the presence of people.

Derived terms

Translations
See man/translations § Verb.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 “man”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 “man”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
  3. ^ American Heritage Dictionary, 5th edition
  4. ^ Purdue OWL

Further reading

Anagrams

Abinomn

Noun

man

  1. moon

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch man, from Middle Dutch man, from Old Dutch man, from Proto-Germanic *mann.

Pronunciation

Noun

man (plural mans or manne, diminutive mannetjie)

  1. man
  2. husband

Usage notes

  • The normal plural in contemporary Afrikaans is mans. The form manne now usually refers to the members of a male group, such as a group of friends or a team or unit. Compare:
Vroue en mans moet gelyke regte hê.
Women and men must have equal rights.
Die manne het goed gespeel vandag.
The men played well today.

Albanian

Alternative forms

Etymology

Syncopated form of Gheg mand, from Proto-Albanian *manta. Compare Ancient Greek βάτος (bátos, “bramble”), said by Beekes to be a Mediterranean wanderwort, and μαντία (mantía, “blackberry”) (Dacian loan).

Pronunciation

Noun

man m (plural mana, definite mani, definite plural manat)

  1. mulberry, mulberry tree

Hyponyms

Aragonese

Etymology

Akin to Spanish mano, from Latin manus.

Noun

man f

  1. hand

Arigidi

Pronoun

man

  1. I, first person singular pronoun, as subject

References

  • B. Oshodi, The HTS (High Tone Syllable) in Arigidi: An Introduction, in the Nordic Journal of African Studies 20(4): 263–275 (2011)

Bagirmi

Noun

man

  1. water

References

  • R. C. Stevenson, Bagirmi Grammar (1969)

Bariai

Noun

man

  1. bird

References

Bikol Central

Adverb

man

  1. also

Bonggo

Noun

man

  1. bird

References

  • George W. Grace, Notes on the phonological history of the Austronesian languages of the Sarmi Coast, in Oceanic Linguistics (1971, 10:11-37)

Caló

Pronoun

man

  1. Contraction of mangue (“I, me”).

References

  • “man” in J. Tineo Rebolledo, A Chipicalli (La Llengua Gitana), Granada: Gómez de la Cruz, 1900, →OCLC, page 60.
  • “man” in Francisco Quindalé, Diccionario gitano, Madrid: Oficina Tipográfica del Hospicio.
  • “man” in Vocabulario : Caló - Español, Portal del Flamenco y Universidad.

Cebuano

Etymology

Compare Tagalog man

Particle

man

  1. gives information; could be omitted
    (Person 1): Hain man si Pedro?
    (Person 2): Tua man 'to siya sa Carcar
    (Person 1): Where is Pedro?
    (Person 2): He is/was there in Carcar
  2. contradicts a previous statement or presumption; usually with the particle ugod/gud
    (Person 1): Hain man si Pedro?
    (Person 2): Tua siya sa Carcar
    (Person 3 responding to person 2): Tua man gud siya sa Cebu
    (Person 1): Where is Pedro?
    (Person 2): He is in Carcar
    (Person 3): No, he's in Cebu
  3. makes a question not abrupt
    Hain man si Pedro?
    Where is Pedro?
    Could you tell me where Pedro is?

Chinese

Etymology

Borrowed from English man.

Pronunciation

  • (Mandarin) IPA(key): /man⁵⁵/, /mɛn⁵⁵/
  • (Cantonese) IPA(key): /mɛːn⁵⁵/

Adjective

man

  1. (slang) manly; masculine

Chinook Jargon

Etymology

Borrowed from English man.

Noun

man

  1. man

Synonyms

Antonyms

Adjective

man

  1. male

Antonyms

Chuukese

Noun

man

  1. Alternative spelling of maan

Cimbrian

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle High German man, from Old High German man, from Proto-Germanic *mann-.

Noun

man m (Tredici Comuni)

  1. man
  2. husband

References

Danish

Etymology 1

From Old Norse mǫn, from Proto-Germanic *manō (“mane”).

Pronunciation

Noun

man c (singular definite manen, plural indefinite maner)

  1. (rare, used primarily by horse specialists) mane (longer hair growth on the back of the neck of a horse)
    Synonym: manke
Inflection
Declension of man
common
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative man manen maner manerne
genitive mans manens maners manernes

Etymology 2

The same word as the noun mand (“man”). Calque of German man.

Pronunciation

Pronoun

man (accusative en or én, possessive ens or éns)

  1. you, one, they, people (a general, unspecified person)
  2. I (used modestly instead of the first-person pronoun)
  3. you (used derogatorily instead of the second-person pronoun)

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /maːˀn/, [ˈmæˀn]

Verb

man

  1. imperative of mane

Dutch

Dutch Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nl

Etymology

From Middle Dutch man, from Old Dutch man, from Proto-West Germanic *mann, from Proto-Germanic *mann-.

Pronunciation

Noun

man m (plural mannen or man or mans, diminutive mannetje n or manneke n or manneken n)

  1. man, human male, either adult or age-irrespective
    De oude man en de zee.
    The Old Man and the Sea
  2. husband, male spouse

Usage notes

  • The normal plural is mannen. The unchanged form man is used after numerals only; it refers to the size of a group rather than a number of individuals. For example: In totaal verloren er 5000 man hun leven in die slag. (“5000 men altogether lost their lives in that battle.”) The plural mans is dated, now mostly occurring in nautical contexts or in dialect.
  • Compound words with -man as their last component often take -lieden or -lui in the plural, rather than -mannen. For example: brandweerman (“firefighter”) → brandweerlieden (alongside brandweerlui and brandweermannen).
  • Various alternative diminutives exist, including manneke (used especially in Flanders) and the dialectal mannechie.

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

  • Afrikaans: man
  • Jersey Dutch: mān
  • Negerhollands: man
    • → Virgin Islands Creole: mani (dated)

Anagrams

Faroese

Verb

man

  1. first/third-person singular present of munna
    I, he, she, it will / may

Derived terms

Pronoun

man

  1. (colloquial) one, they (indefinite third-person singular pronoun)

Synonyms

Friulian

Etymology

From Latin manus.

Noun

man m (plural mans)

  1. hand

Gaikundi

Noun

man

  1. foot

Further reading

Galician

Alternative forms

  • mão (Reintegrationist)
  • mam (Reintegrationist)
  • mao

Etymology

From Old Galician and Old Galician-Portuguese mão, from Latin manus.

Noun

man f (plural mans)

  1. hand
  2. Synonym: figurative ownership; protection; power; grasp

Derived terms

Usage notes

References

German

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Middle High German man, from Old High German man, from Proto-West Germanic *mann, from Proto-Germanic *mann- (“man”).

Pronoun

man

  1. one, you (indefinite pronoun; construed as a third-person singular)
    Man kann nicht immer kriegen, was man will.
    You can’t always get what you want.
    Manchmal muss man Kompromisse machen.
    Sometimes one must compromise.
    • 2008, Frank Behmeta, Wenn ich die Augen öffne, page 55:
      Kann man es fühlen, wenn man schwanger ist?
      Can one feel that one is pregnant?
  2. they, people (people in general)
    Zumindest sagt man das so...
    At least that’s what they say...
  3. someone, somebody (some unspecified person)
  4. they (some unspecified group of people)
Usage notes
  • Man is used in the nominative case only; for the oblique cases forms of the pronoun einer are used. For example: Man kann nicht immer tun, was einen glücklich macht. — One cannot always do what makes one happy.
  • Since man derives from the same source as Mann (“man; male”), its use is considered problematic by some feminists. They have proposed alternating man and the feminine neologism frau, or using the generic neologism mensch. This usage has gained some currency in feminist and left-wing publications, but remains rare otherwise.
  • In the sense of “someone,” man is often translated using the passive voice (“I was told that...” rather than “someone told me that...”).

Etymology 2

From Middle Low German man. A contraction of Old Saxon newan (“none other than”). Compare a similar contraction in Dutch maar (“only”).

Adverb

man

  1. (colloquial, regional, Northern Germany) just; only
    Komm man hier rüber!
    Just come over here!
    Das sind man dreißig Stück oder so.
    These are only thirty or so.

German Low German

Etymology

From Middle Low German man. A contraction of Old Saxon newan (“none other than”). Compare a similar contraction in Dutch maar (“only”).

Conjunction

man

  1. (in many dialects, including Low Prussian) only; but

Synonyms

  • (in various dialects) avers, awer (and many variations thereof; for which, see those entries)
  • (in some dialects) bloots

Gothic

Romanization

man

  1. Romanization of 𐌼𐌰𐌽

Icelandic

This entry needs quotations to illustrate usage. If you come across any interesting, durably archived quotes then please add them!

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Old Norse man, perhaps from Proto-Germanic *gamaną (with unstressed prefix *ga-).

Noun

man n (genitive singular mans, nominative plural mön)

  1. (obsolete, uncountable, collective) slaves
  2. (archaic, countable) a female slave
  3. (archaic or poetic, countable) maiden
Declension
declension of man
n-s singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative man manið mön mönin
accusative man manið mön mönin
dative mani maninu mönum mönunum
genitive mans mansins mana mananna
Synonyms
Derived terms

Etymology 2

From mana (“to dare [someone] [to do something]”).

Noun

man n (genitive singular mans, no plural)

  1. the act of daring someone to do something; provocation, dare
Declension
declension of man
n-s singular
indefinite definite
nominative man manið
accusative man manið
dative mani maninu
genitive mans mansins

Etymology 3

Appears in Guðbrandur Þorláksson’s 1584 Bible translation. Borrowed from German Man (in Luther’s 1534 German Bible), from Hebrew מן (mān, “manna”).

Noun

man n (indeclinable)

  1. (biblical, obsolete) manna
    • 1584, Guðbrandur Þorláksson (translator), “Exodus. Aunnur Bok Moſe”, in Biblia, Þad Er Øll Heiloͤg Ritning vtloͤgd a Norrænu‎[2], Hólar: Jón Jónsson, chapter 16, verse 33, page 76:
      Og Moſes ſegde til Aaron / Tak þier eina Føtu / og legg eirn Gomor fullan af Man þar i / og lꜳt þad vardueitaſt fyrer DROTTNI til ydar ep[t]erkomande Kynkuijſla
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Synonyms

Etymology 4

Verb

man

  1. first-person singular present indicative of muna; I remember
    Ég man ekki.
    I don't remember.
  2. third-person singular present indicative of muna; he/she/it remembers
    Hann man hvað gerðist.
    He remembers what happened.

References

Istriot

Etymology

From Latin manus.

Noun

man m

  1. hand

Japanese

Romanization

man

  1. Rōmaji transcription of まん
  2. Rōmaji transcription of マン

Ladin

Etymology

From Latin manus.

Noun

man f (plural mans)

  1. hand

Latvian

Pronoun

man

  1. to me; (deprecated template usage) dative singular form of es

Ligurian

Etymology

From Latin manus.

Pronunciation

Noun

man f (plural moæn)

  1. hand

Lithuanian

Pronunciation

Pronoun

mán

  1. Template:lt-form-pronoun
    Dúok mán tą̃ knỹgą.
    Give me that book.

Luxembourgish

Pronunciation

Verb

man (third-person singular present meet, past participle gemat or gemeet, auxiliary verb hunn)

  1. (regional, southern dialects) Alternative form of maachen

Mandarin

Romanization

man

  1. Nonstandard spelling of mān.
  2. Nonstandard spelling of mán.
  3. Nonstandard spelling of mǎn.
  4. Nonstandard spelling of màn.

Usage notes

  • Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch man, from Proto-West Germanic *mann, from Proto-Germanic *mann-.

Noun

man m

  1. human
  2. person
  3. man, male
  4. husband
  5. subordinate

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

Further reading

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English man (“one, a person”).

Alternative forms

Pronoun

man

  2. Typically singular, indefinite pronoun: one, you (indefinite).
Derived terms
See also
References

Etymology 2

Noun

man

  1. Alternative form of mon (“man”)

Etymology 3

Verb

man

  1. (Late Middle English) Alternative form of mone (“shall”)

Miskito

Pronunciation

Pronoun

man

  1. (in the singular) you

See also

Miskito personal pronouns
Singular Plural
First inclusive yawan
exclusive yang yang nani
Second man man nani
Third witin witin nani

Norman

Norman Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nrf

Alternative forms

Etymology 1

From Old French main, mein, man, from Latin manus (“hand”).

Noun

man f (plural mans)

  1. (France, anatomy) hand

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Adjective

man (feminine ma)

  1. my (belonging to me)
Coordinate terms
  • tan (“your”)
  • san (“hers, his, its”)

North Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian mīn, from Proto-West Germanic *mīn.

Pronoun

man m (feminine min, neuter min, plural min)

  1. (Föhr-Amrum) my

Northern Kurdish

Verb

man

  1. to stay
  2. to remain

Northern Sami

Pronoun

man

  1. accusative/genitive singular of mii

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Pronoun

man

  1. you
  2. one
  3. they
  4. people

Etymology 2

From Old Norse mǫn, from Proto-Germanic *manō.

Pronunciation

Noun

man f or m (definite singular mana or manen, indefinite plural maner, definite plural manene)

  1. a mane (of a horse)

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse mǫn, from Proto-Germanic *manō.

Noun

man f (definite singular mana, indefinite plural maner, definite plural manene)

  1. mane (of a horse)

References

Occitan

Etymology

From Old Occitan man, from Latin manus.

Pronunciation

Noun

man f (plural mans)

  1. hand

Old Dutch

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *mann, from Proto-Germanic *mann-.

Noun

man m

  1. human, person
  2. man, male

Inflection

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head=man
Please see Module:checkparams for help with this warning.

Declension of man
Singular Plural
nominative man manna
accusative man manna
genitive mannis manno
dative manne mannon

Derived terms

Descendants

Further reading

  • “man (I)”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012

Old English

Etymology 1

From mann.

Pronunciation

Pronoun

man

  1. one, you (indefinite pronoun; construed as a third-person singular)
    Ne mæġ man simle beġietan þæt hē wile.
    You can't always get what you want.
    On þām ende, man swilt on his āgnum earmum.
    In the end, you die in your own arms.
    Mæġ man þæs fēlan þæt hēo bearnēacnu sīe?
    Can one feel that one is pregnant?
    • late 10th century, Ælfric, "The First Sunday in September, When Job Is Read"
      Man sċeal lǣwedum mannum seċġan be heora andġietes mǣðe, swā þæt hīe ne bēon þurh þā dēopnesse ǣmōde ne þurh þā langsumnesse ǣþrȳtte.
      You have to talk to laymen based on how much they understand, so they're not intimidated by the depth of what you're saying or bored by how long it is.
    • late 10th century, Ælfric, "Dedication of the Church of St. Michael"
      Sē hrōf ēac swelċe hæfde mislīċe hēanesse: on sumre stōwe hine man meahte mid hēafde ġerǣċan, on sumre mid handa earfoþlīċe.
      The height of the roof was also uneven: you could touch one part of it with the top of your head, and barely reach another part with your hand.
  2. they, people (people in general)
    Man cwiþ þæt gāstas sīen on þissum ealdan hūse.
    They say there's ghosts in this old house.
  3. someone, somebody (some unspecified person)
  4. they (some unspecified group of people)
    Þæt man mē sæġde.
    That's what they told me.
    Wilt þū ġesēon hū hine man ofslōg?
    Do you want to see how they killed him?
  5. often used where modern English would use the passive voice
    • late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy
      Hine man sċeal lǣdan tō þām lǣċe.
      He should be taken to the doctor.
    • Early 11th century, Wulfstan, "On the Beginning of Creation"
      Þā sē Hǣlend ċild wæs, eall hine man fēdde swā man ōðer ċildru fētt. Hē læġ on cradole bewunden, ealswā ōðru ċildru dōþ. Hine man bær oþ hē self gān meahte.
      When Jesus was a baby, he was fed just like other babies are fed. He lay wrapped up in a cradle, just like other babies do. He was carried until he could walk by himself.
Descendants

Etymology 2

See mann.

Pronunciation

Noun

man m

  1. Alternative form of mann

Etymology 3

From Proto-Germanic *mainą.

Pronunciation

Noun

mān n

  1. crime, sin, wickedness
Derived terms

Old High German

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *mann, from Proto-West Germanic *mann, from Proto-Germanic *mann-.

Noun

man m

  1. man

Descendants

Old Norse

Noun

man n (genitive mans, plural mǫn)

  1. household, house-folk, bondslaves
  2. bondwoman, female slave
  3. woman, maid
    • 900-1100, The Alvíssmál, verse 7:
      Sáttir þínar er ek vil snemma hafa
      ok þat gjaforð geta;
      eiga vilja heldr en án vera
      þat it mjallhvíta man.
      Quickly will I have your agreement
      and win the word of marriage;
      I would rather own than be without
      that pale maid.

Declension

  Declension of man (strong a-stem)
neuter singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative man manit mǫn mǫnin
accusative man manit mǫn mǫnin
dative mani maninu mǫnum mǫnunum
genitive mans mansins mana mananna

Derived terms

Descendants

References

  • Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic‎[3], Oxford: Clarendon Press

Old Occitan

Etymology

From Latin manus.

Noun

man f (oblique plural mans, nominative singular man, nominative plural mans)

  1. hand (anatomy)

Descendants

References

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *mann, from Proto-Germanic *mann-.

Noun

man m

  1. human, person
  2. man

Synonyms

Template:mid2

Descendants

  • Middle Low German: man
    • German Low German: Mann

Old Spanish

Etymology

From Latin māne (“morning”).

Pronunciation

Noun

man f (plural manes)

  1. morning
    • c. 1200: Almerich, Fazienda de Ultramar, f. 18r.
      Fue el dia ṫcero al alba dela man. ¬ vinẏerȯ truenos ¬ relȧpagos ¬ nuf grȧt ſobrel mȯt.
      It was the early morning of the third day, and there came thunder and flashes of lightning and a great cloud upon the mountain.

Synonyms

Papiamentu

Etymology

From Portuguese mão.

Noun

man

  1. hand

Romani

Pronoun

man

  1. accusative of me

Sambali

Adverb

man

  1. also

Scottish Gaelic

Preposition

man

  1. Alternative form of mar

Usage notes

  • Unlike mar, man does not lenite the following word.

Spanish

Etymology

English man

Pronunciation

Noun

man m (plural men)

  1. (Latin America, colloquial) man, guy, dude
    Synonyms: tipo, tío; see also Thesaurus:tío
    • 2017, “Bella”, performed by Wolfine:
      Me dijeron que andabas un poco triste / Que te pusiste a beber y con un man por ahí te fuiste
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Sranan Tongo

Etymology

From English man.

Pronunciation

Noun

man

  1. man, male human
    A man no ben man taki. ― The man could not speak.

Derived terms

Verb

man

  1. to be able to
    A man no ben man taki. ― The man could not speak.

Synonyms

Swedish

Etymology 1

From Old Swedish maþer, mander, from Old Norse maðr, from Proto-Germanic *mann-.

Pronunciation

Noun

man m

  1. man (adult male human)
    En man går på gatan.
    A man walks on the street.
    Ungefär hundra män deltog i loppet.
    Around one hundred men took part in the race.
  2. husband
    Vi går till caféet med våra män.
    We go to the café with our husbands.
  3. a member of a crew, workforce or (military) troop
    I äldre tider sa man att björnen ägde sju mans styrka men en mans vett.
    In older times, they said the bear has the strength of seven men but the sense of one man.
Declension
Declension of man 1, 2, 3
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative man mannen män männen
Genitive mans mannens mäns männens
Declension of man 3
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative man mannen mannar, man mannarna
Genitive mans mannens mannars, mans mannarnas

See also

(husband): make, gemål

Usage notes

(adult male human): The unchanged plural man is sometimes used after numerals. It means "men" as a measure for size or strength of a group rather than individuals:

Med tre man kan vi lyfta byrån ― With three people we can lift the cupboard
Military or police personnel, team members, demonstrators and the like are often counted using this unchanged plural. The same goes with German where Mann can have an unchanged plural form in this particular case.

(husband): Not used in other contexts, where could be confused with a man in general.

Pronoun

man c

  1. (indefinite) one, they; people in general
    Vad man kan se
    What one can see
Declension

See Template:sv-decl-ppron for more pronouns.

Etymology 2

From Old Swedish man, from Old Norse mǫn, from Proto-Germanic *manō.

Pronunciation

Noun

man c

  1. mane (of a horse or lion)
Declension
Declension of man 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative man manen manar manarna
Genitive mans manens manars manarnas

Anagrams

Tagalog

Adverb

man

  1. although; even if; even though
  2. also

Tarpia

Noun

man

  1. bird

References

  • George W. Grace, Notes on the phonological history of the Austronesian languages of the Sarmi Coast, in Oceanic Linguistics (1971, 10:11-37)

Tok Pisin

Etymology

From English man.

Noun

man

  1. man (adult male human)
    • 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Port Moresby: Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Jenesis 2:5:
      ...i no gat diwai na gras samting i kamap long graun yet, long wanem, em i no salim ren i kam daun yet. Na i no gat man bilong wokim gaden.
      →New International Version translation

Adjective

man

  1. male
This entry has fewer than three known examples of actual usage, the minimum considered necessary for clear attestation, and may not be reliable. Tok Pisin is subject to a special exemption for languages with limited documentation. If you speak it, please consider editing this entry or adding citations. See also Help and the Community Portal.

Antonyms

Derived terms

Torres Strait Creole

Etymology

From English man.

Noun

man

  1. husband
  2. a married man
  3. any man

Venetian

Etymology

From Latin manus.

Noun

man f (invariable)

  1. hand

Vietnamese

Etymology

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 萬 (“ten thousand”, SV: vạn). Doublet of muôn and vạn.

Pronunciation

Numeral

man

  1. (archaic) ten thousand; myriad
    một man
    ten thousand

Derived terms

  • cơ man (“a large quantity of”)

Volapük

Etymology

Borrowed from the descendants of Proto-West Germanic *mann.

Pronunciation

Noun

man (nominative plural mans)

  1. man (adult male human)

Declension

declension of man
singular plural
nominative man mans
genitive mana manas
dative mane manes
accusative mani manis
vocative 1 o man! o mans!
predicative 2 manu manus
  • 1 status as a case is disputed
  • 2 in later, non-classical Volapük only

Coordinate terms

Derived terms

Terms derived from man

Template:rel-mid3

Template:rel-mid3

Welsh

Etymology

From Middle Welsh mann, from Proto-Celtic *mendu- (“mark, location”), from Proto-Indo-European *mend- (“physical defect, fault”), same source as Old Irish mennar (“blemish, stain”).

Pronunciation

Noun

man m or f (plural mannau)

  1. place

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical soft nasal aspirate
man fan unchanged unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

West Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian man, from Proto-West Germanic *mann, from Proto-Germanic *mann-.

Pronunciation

Noun

man c (plural manlju or mannen, diminutive mantsje)

  1. man
    Coordinate term: frou
  2. husband
    Coordinate term: frou

Further reading

  • “man (I)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

Westrobothnian

Etymology

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Pronunciation

Conjunction

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  1. meanwhile, as long as, while, whilst
    tyst man jag sȯf
    be quiet while I sleep

Alternative forms

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Wik-Mungkan

Noun

man

  1. neck

Derived terms

Wolof

Pronunciation

Pronoun

man

  1. I (first-person singular subject pronoun)

See also

Wolof personal pronouns
singular subject plural subject singular object plural object
1st person man nun ma nu
2nd person yow yeen la leen
3rd person moom ñoom ko leen

Yola

Etymology

From Middle English man, from Old English mann, from Proto-West Germanic *mann.

Noun

man

  1. man
  2. husband

Antonyms

References

  • Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867

Zealandic

Etymology

From Middle Dutch man, from Old Dutch man, from Proto-West Germanic *mann, from Proto-Germanic *mann-.

Noun

man m (plural mannen)

  1. man
  2. husband
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