man

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Archived revision by Surjection (talk | contribs) as of 14:01, 21 September 2022.
Jump to navigation Jump to search
See also: Appendix:Variations of "man", -man, and Man

Translingual

Symbol

man

  1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Mandingo.

English

A man

Pronunciation

  • Lua error in Module:parameters at line 376: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "RP" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /mæn/
  • Lua error in Module:parameters at line 376: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "ae-tensing" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): [mɛən], [meən], [mẽə̃n]
  • Lua error in Module:parameters at line 376: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "Jamaica" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): [mɑn]
  • Lua error in Module:parameters at line 376: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "New Zealand" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): [mɛn]
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Audio (UK):(file)
  • Rhymes: -æn

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, man, mandem (Multicultural London English),[1] 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 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:
      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
    • c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]:
      […] 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.
    • 1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene v]:
      God's a good man.
    • 1609 December (first performance), Beniamin Ionson [i.e., Ben Jonson], “Epicoene, or The Silent Woman. A Comœdie. […]”, in The Workes of Beniamin Ionson (First Folio), London: […] Will[iam] Stansby, published 1616, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
      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.
  11. A male 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, page 46:
      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. 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!
  20. A friendly term of address usually reserved for other adult males.
    Hey, man, how's it goin'?
  21. (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.[2] 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”,[2] “flatly discriminatory in that it slights or ignores the membership of women in the human race”.[3] 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.[4] Some style guides recommend against generic “man”,[5] 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.[3]
    • 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
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[2]:
      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.

Pronoun

man

  1. (MLE, slang, personal pronoun) 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.
    • 2013, Jenny Cheshire, “Grammaticalisation in social context: The emergence of a new English pronoun”, in Journal of Sociolinguistics‎[3], volume 17, number 5, page 609:
      before I got arrested man paid for my own ticket to go Jamaica you know . but I’ve never paid to go on no holiday before this time I paid (Dexter, MLE)
    • 2017, Joseph Barnes Phillips, Big Foot ...and Tiny Little Heartstrings
      Blood I swear she just gave man extra chicken? Two fat pieces of chicken.
  2. (MLE, slang, indefinite personal pronoun) Any person, one
    • c1450, Thomas Chestre, Libeaus Desconus
      He was of all colours Þat man may se of flours Be-twene Mydsomer and May.
    • 2013, Jenny Cheshire, “Grammaticalisation in social context: The emergence of a new English pronoun”, in Journal of Sociolinguistics‎[4], volume 17, number 5, page 609:
      I don’t really mind how . how my girl looks if she looks decent yeah and there’s one bit of her face that just looks mashed yeah . I don’t care it’s her personality man’s looking at (Alex, Multicultural London English corpus [MLE])
Usage notes

The usage of man as pronoun originally died out in the 15th century. It has independently reappeared in Multicultural London English. There it is most commonly used as a first person pronoun or as an indefinite personal pronoun, but uses in the second and third person are also attested.[1]

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”), Danish bemande (“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 Jenny Cheshire (2013) “Grammaticalisation in social context: The emergence of a new English pronoun”, in Journal of Sociolinguistics‎[1], volume 17, number 5, pages 608-33
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 “man”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 “man”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
  4. ^ American Heritage Dictionary, 5th edition
  5. ^ 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

Pronunciation

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.

Pronunciation

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

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from English man.

Pronunciation

  • Lua error in Module:parameters at line 376: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "Mandarin" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. also pronounced as /mɛn⁵⁵/

    • 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

    Czech

    Etymology

    From Old Czech man, from Middle High German and Old High German man.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): [ˈman]
    • Hyphenation: man

    Noun

    man m anim (female equivalent manka)

    1. (historical) vassal, feoffee
      Synonyms: vazal, leník

    Declension

    Template:cs-decl-noun

    Derived terms

    Further reading

    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

    Descendants

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

    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

    French

    Etymology

    Blend of mon +‎ ma.

    Pronunciation

    Determiner

    man n (singular, plural mes)

    1. (gender-neutral, neologism) my
      Man colocataire a fait son coming out non-binaire.
      My roommate came out as non-binary.

    See also

    Template:French possessive adjectives

    Further reading

    Friulian

    Etymology

    From Latin manus.

    Noun

    man m (plural mans)

    1. hand

    Gaikundi

    Noun

    man

    1. foot

    Further reading

    Galician

    Alternative forms

    • mão (reintegrationist spelling, lusista)
    • mam (reintegrationist spelling)
    • mao (central and eastern Galicia)

    Etymology

    From Old Galician and Old Galician-Portuguese mão, from Latin manus. Cognate with Portuguese mão and Spanish mano.

    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.

    Further reading

    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[5], 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.

    Lombard

    Alternative forms

    • ma, mà (Eastern orthographies)

    Etymology

    From Latin manus.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /maːn/, [maːŋ] (Western)
    • IPA(key): /maː/, [ma(ː)] (Eastern)

    Noun

    man f (plural man)

    1. hand

    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.

    Derived terms

    - general:

    - persons:

    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

    The template Template:odt-decl-table does not use the parameter(s): 
    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)
      • c. 992, 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.
      • c. 992, 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)
    3. someone, somebody (some unspecified person)
    4. they (some unspecified group of people)
    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 ōðru 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

    Etymology

    Probably from Proto-Germanic *gamaną (“fellow human”)

    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[6], 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

    Noun

    man m

    1. Alternative form of 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 Spanish mano.

    Noun

    man

    1. hand

    Romani

    Pronoun

    man

    1. accusative of me

    Sambali

    Adverb

    man

    1. also

    Saterland Frisian

    Pronunciation

    Etymology 1

    Borrowed from Middle Low German man. Related to German Low German man and Swedish men.

    Conjunction

    man

    1. but

    Adverb

    man

    1. but, just

    Etymology 2

    From an unstressed variant of Old Frisian mon (“man”). Compare Dutch men and German man.

    Pronoun

    man

    1. one, they
      • 2000, Marron C. Fort, transl., Dät Näie Tästamänt un do Psoolme in ju aasterlauwerfräiske Uurtoal fon dät Seelterlound, Fräislound, Butjoarlound, Aastfräislound un do Groninger Umelounde, →ISBN, Dät Evangelium ätter Matthäus 1:23:
        Sjooët, n Maiden skäl n Bäiden undfange, n Súun skäl ju uurwinne, un man skäl him dän Nome Immanuel reke, dät hat uursät: God is mäd uus.
        Behold, a virgin shall become pregnant with a child, she will give birth to a son, and they shall give him the name Immanuel, which is translated: God is with us.
    • Mon (“man, husband”)

    References

    • Marron C. Fort (2015) “man”, in Saterfriesisches Wörterbuch mit einer phonologischen und grammatischen Übersicht, Buske, →ISBN

    Scottish Gaelic

    Preposition

    man

    1. Alternative form of mar

    Usage notes

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

    Spanish

    Etymology

    From 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)

    Further reading

    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.
      • 1984, “Nioni”, in Telefôn' mi koe mi koenoe, performed by The Exmo Stars & Boogie:
        Te yu no man fu tyari akata / yu no mu trobi matuku
        If you aren't able to carry a headpad / you shouldn't bother with a basket

    Synonyms

    Sumerian

    Romanization

    man

    1. Romanization of 𒎙 (man)

    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.
      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.
    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
      Vi var sjuttio man som slet i gruvan.
      We were seventy men who toiled in the mine.
    Declension
    Declension of man 1, 2, 3
    nominative genitive
    singular indefinite man mans
    definite mannen mannens
    plural indefinite män mäns
    definite männen männens
    Declension of man 3
    nominative genitive
    singular indefinite man mans
    definite mannen mannens
    plural indefinite mannar, man mannars, mans
    definite mannarna mannarnas
    Derived terms

    Lua error in Module:parameters at line 858: Parameter "lang" is not used by this template.

    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.

    Derived terms

    Lua error in Module:parameters at line 858: Parameter "lang" is not used by this template.

    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
    nominative genitive
    singular indefinite man mans
    definite manen manens
    plural indefinite manar manars
    definite manarna manarnas

    Anagrams

    Tagalog

    Pronunciation

    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

    Template:LDL

    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

    Pronunciation

    Etymology 1

    Sino-Vietnamese word from 瞞 (“to lie”). Also compare 謾／谩 (“to deceive”).

    Adjective

    man

    1. (only in compounds) dishonest; false; untruthful
    Derived terms

    Etymology 2

    Sino-Vietnamese word from 蠻 (“barbarian; unreasonable”).

    Noun

    man

    1. (derogatory, chiefly in compounds) a savage; barbarian
    Derived terms

    Etymology 3

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

    Numeral

    man

    1. (archaic) ten thousand; myriad
      một man ― ten thousand
    Derived terms

    Anagrams

    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 1

    From Middle Welsh mann, from Proto-Celtic *mendus (“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 or mannoedd)

    1. place; location

    Mutation

    Mutated forms of man
    radical soft nasal aspirate
    man fan unchanged unchanged

    Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
    All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

    Etymology 2

    Possibly from Latin menda (“defect, blemish, mistake”), from Proto-Indo-European *mend- (“physical defect, fault”). See Old Irish mennar (“blemish, stain”).

    Noun

    man m (plural mannau or mannoedd, diminutive mannyn or mennyn)

    1. speck; blemish
    2. stain
    3. distinguishing mark
    4. birthmark; mole
    5. pimple; spot
    6. (heraldry) mascle

    Mutation

    Mutated forms of man
    radical soft nasal aspirate
    man fan unchanged unchanged

    Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
    All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

    Etymology 3

    Learned borrowing from Hebrew מן (mān, “'manna”).

    Noun

    man m

    1. (uncommon) manna
      Synonym: manna

    Mutation

    Mutated forms of man
    radical soft nasal aspirate
    man fan unchanged unchanged

    Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
    All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

    References

    • R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “man”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
    • Matasović, Ranko (2009) Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 264

    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

    From Lua error in Module:parameters at line 376: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "gmq-bot" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E., from Lua error in Module:parameters at line 376: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "gmq-bot" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E..

    Pronunciation

    • Lua error in Module:parameters at line 376: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "gmq-bot" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. Template:gmq-bot-pronu-note
      Lua error in Module:parameters at line 376: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "gmq-bot" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E.

    Conjunction

    Lua error in Module:parameters at line 376: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "gmq-bot" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E.

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

    Alternative forms

    • Lua error in Module:parameters at line 376: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "gmq-bot" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E.
    • Lua error in Module:parameters at line 376: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "gmq-bot" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E.

    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 (plural mannes)

    1. man
    2. husband
      Coordinate term: mawen

    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, page 55

    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
    Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=man&oldid=69342821"