man

Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search
See also: Appendix:Variations of "man", -man, and Man

English[edit]

Wikipedia-logo.png
 Man (disambiguation) on Wikipedia

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English man, from Old English mann m (“human being, person, man”), from Proto-Germanic *mann- m (“human being, man”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *mon- (“man”) (compare also *men- (“mind”)). Cognate with West Frisian man c, Dutch man m, German Mann m (“man”), Norwegian mann (“man”), Old Swedish maþer m (“man”), Swedish man c, Russian муж m anim (muž, “husband, male person”), Avestan 𐬨𐬀𐬥𐬱‎ (manuš), Sanskrit मनु m (manu, “human being”), Urdu مانس‎ m and Hindi मानस m (mānas).

Noun[edit]

man (plural men)

A man.
  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 639762314, page 0029:
      “ […] 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 examples of usage of 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 of either 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, Bible (KJV), 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 55189476; republished as Geoffrey Keynes, John Sparrow, editor, Devotions upon Emergent Occasions: […], Cambridge: At the University Press, 1923, OCLC 459265555, lines 2–3, page 98:
      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?
  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.
    • 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. An adult male person; a (male adult) 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.
    • 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island:
      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.
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 4, in The Celebrity:
      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[edit]
  • 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 well-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 often led to accusations of the critics of the generic man as enforcing linguistic prescriptivism.
  • See also the man
Synonyms[edit]
Coordinate terms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]

See man/translations § Noun.

See also[edit]

Adjective[edit]

man (not comparable)

  1. Only used in man enough

Interjection[edit]

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 of use of this term, see Citations:man.
Translations[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

Translations[edit]

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 “man” in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press.
  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[edit]

  • "man" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 188.

Anagrams[edit]

Abinomn[edit]

Noun[edit]

man

  1. moon

Afrikaans[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

man (plural mans or manne)

  1. man
  2. husband

Albanian[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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[edit]

Noun[edit]

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

  1. mulberry, mulberry tree

Hyponyms[edit]

Arigidi[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

man

  1. I, first person singular pronoun, as subject

References[edit]

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

Bagirmi[edit]

Noun[edit]

man

  1. water

References[edit]

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

Bariai[edit]

Noun[edit]

man

  1. bird

References[edit]

Bonggo[edit]

Noun[edit]

man

  1. bird

References[edit]

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

Chinese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English man.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (Mandarin) IPA(key): /mɛːn⁵⁵/
  • (Cantonese) IPA(key): /mɛːn⁵⁵/

Adjective[edit]

man

  1. (slang) manly; masculine

Chinook Jargon[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English man.

Noun[edit]

man

  1. man

Synonyms[edit]

Antonyms[edit]

Adjective[edit]

man

  1. male

Antonyms[edit]

Chuukese[edit]

Noun[edit]

man

  1. Alternative spelling of maan

Cimbrian[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle High German man, from Old High German man, from Proto-Germanic *mann-. Cognate with German Mann, Dutch man, English man, Icelandic maður, Swedish man, Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌽𐌽𐌰 (manna).

Noun[edit]

man m (Thirteen Communities)

  1. man
  2. husband

References[edit]

  • “man” in Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Ünsarne Börtar [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

Danish[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Norse mǫn, from Proto-Indo-European *mon- (“neck”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

man c (singular definite manen, plural indefinite maner)

  1. mane (longer hair growth on back of neck of a horse)
Declension[edit]
Declension of man
common
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative man manen maner manerne
genitive mans manens maners manernes
Related terms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Same as mand (“man”), from Old Norse maðr (“man”). Transition to pronoun by German influence.

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

man

  1. you
  2. they, people
  3. we, one

Etymology 3[edit]

See mane.

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

man

  1. imperative of mane

Dutch[edit]

Dutch Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nl

Etymology[edit]

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

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

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[edit]

  • 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[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

  • Afrikaans: man

Anagrams[edit]

Faroese[edit]

Verb[edit]

man

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

Conjugation[edit]

   Conjugation of munna
v
infinitive munna
present participle —
past participle —
supine munnað
number singular plural
person first second third all
indicative eg tú hann/hon/tað vit, tit, teir/tær/tey, tygum
present man manst man munnu/munna
past mundi mundi mundi mundu
imperative – tú – tit
present — —! — —!

Derived terms[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

man

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

Synonyms[edit]

Friulian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin manus.

Noun[edit]

man m (plural mans)

  1. hand

Gaikundi[edit]

Noun[edit]

man

  1. foot

Further reading[edit]

Galician[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

mao

Etymology[edit]

From Old Portuguese mão, from Latin manus. Compare Catalan mà, French main, Italian mano, Occitan man, Portuguese mão, Romanian mână, Sardinian manu, Spanish mano.

Noun[edit]

man f (plural mans)

  1. hand

Usage notes[edit]

  • Man is a false friend, and does not mean man. Galician equivalents are shown in the "Translations" section of the English entry man.

German[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle High German man, from Old High German man, from Proto-Germanic *mann- (“man”), probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mon-. Originally the same word as Mann (“man”), which see for more. The same construct in Dutch men, French on.

Pronoun[edit]

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[edit]
  • 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[edit]

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

Adverb[edit]

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[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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

Conjunction[edit]

man

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

Synonyms[edit]

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

Gothic[edit]

Romanization[edit]

man

  1. Romanization of 𐌼𐌰𐌽

Icelandic[edit]

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

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

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

Noun[edit]

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[edit]
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[edit]
Derived terms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

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

Noun[edit]

man n (genitive singular mans, no plural)

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

Etymology 3[edit]

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

Noun[edit]

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 quote)

Synonyms[edit]

Etymology 4[edit]

Verb[edit]

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[edit]

Istriot[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin manus.

Noun[edit]

man m

  1. hand

Japanese[edit]

Romanization[edit]

man

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

Kurdish[edit]

Verb[edit]

man

  1. to stay
  2. to remain

Ladin[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin manus.

Noun[edit]

man f (plural mans)

  1. hand

Latvian[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

man

  1. to me; dative singular form of es

Ligurian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin manus.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

man f (plural moæn)

  1. hand

Lithuanian[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

mán

  1. (first-person singular) dative form of aš.
    Duok man tą knygą.
    Give me that book.

Luxembourgish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

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

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

Mandarin[edit]

Romanization[edit]

man

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

Usage notes[edit]

  • English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

Middle Dutch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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

Noun[edit]

man m

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

Inflection[edit]

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • “man”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000

Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929), “man (I)”, in Middelniederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page I

Middle English[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

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

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

man

  1. Typically singular, indefinite pronoun: one, you (indefinite).
Derived terms[edit]
See also[edit]
References[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old English mann.

Noun[edit]

man

  1. Alternative form of mon

Miskito[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

man

  1. (singular) you

See also[edit]

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

Norman[edit]

Norman Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nrm

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old French main, mein, man, from Latin manus (“hand”), from Proto-Indo-European *mon-.

Noun[edit]

man f (plural mans)

  1. (France, anatomy) hand

Etymology 2[edit]

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

Adjective[edit]

man (feminine ma)

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

North Frisian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Frisian mīn.

Pronoun[edit]

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

  1. (Föhr-Amrum) my

Northern Sami[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

man

  1. accusative/genitive singular of mii

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

man

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

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

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

  1. a mane (of a horse)

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Noun[edit]

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

  1. mane (of a horse)

Occitan[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Occitan man, from Latin manus.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

man f (plural mans)

  1. hand

Old Dutch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Germanic *mann-, probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mon-.

Noun[edit]

man m

  1. human, person
  2. man, male

Inflection[edit]

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

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

Further reading[edit]

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

Old English[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From mann.

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

man

  1. one, someone, they (often used to form the passive)
Descendants[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Proto-Germanic *mainą. Cognate with Old Saxon mēn, Old High German mein, Old Norse mein.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

mān n

  1. crime, sin, wickedness
Derived terms[edit]

Old High German[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Germanic *mann-, probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mon-. Compare Old Saxon man, Dutch man, Old English mann, Old Frisian man, mon, Old Norse maðr, Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌽𐌽𐌰 (manna).

Noun[edit]

man m

  1. man

Descendants[edit]

Old Norse[edit]

Noun[edit]

man n (genitive mans, plural mǫn)

  1. household, house-folk, bondslaves
  2. bondwoman, female slave
  3. woman, maid

Declension[edit]

  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[edit]

Descendants[edit]

References[edit]

  • man in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Old Occitan[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin manus.

Noun[edit]

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

  1. hand (anatomy)

Descendants[edit]

References[edit]

Old Saxon[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Germanic *mann-, probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mon-. Compare Old English mann, Old Frisian man, mon, Old Dutch man, Old High German man, Old Norse maðr.

Noun[edit]

man m

  1. human, person
  2. man

Synonyms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

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

Papiamentu[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Spanish mano.

Noun[edit]

man

  1. hand

Scottish Gaelic[edit]

Preposition[edit]

man

  1. Alternative form of mar

Usage notes[edit]

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

Spanish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

English

Noun[edit]

man m (plural men)

  1. (Latin America, colloquial) man, guy, dude

Sranan Tongo[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From English man.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

man

  1. man, male human

Derived terms[edit]

Swedish[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Swedish maþer, mander, from Old Norse maðr, from Proto-Germanic *mann-, probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mon-.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

man c

  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[edit]

Definitions 1, 2 and 3:

Declension of man 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative man mannen män männen
Genitive mans mannens mäns männens

Definition 3:

Declension of man 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative man mannen mannar, man mannarna
Genitive mans mannens mannars, mans mannarnas

See also[edit]

(husband): make, gemål

Usage notes[edit]

(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[edit]

man c

  1. (indefinite) one, they; people in general
    Vad man kan se
    What one can see
Declension[edit]
Swedish personal pronouns
Number Person Type Nominative Oblique Possessive
common neuter plural
singular first — jag mig, mej3 min mitt mina
second — du dig, dej3 din ditt dina
third masculine (person) han honom, han2 hans
feminine (person) hon henne hennes
gender-neutral (person)1 hen henom, hen2 hens
common (noun) den den dess
neuter (noun) det det dess
indefinite man or en4 en ens
reflexive — sig, sej3 sin sitt sina
plural first — vi oss vår, våran2 vårt, vårat2 våra
second — ni er er, eran2, ers5 ert, erat2 era
archaic I eder eder, eders5 edert edra
third — de, dom3 dem, dom3 deras
reflexive — sig, sej3 sin sitt sina
1Not universally accepted neologism.
2Informal
4Dialectal, also used lately as a gender-neutral alternative to man.
5Formal address

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old Swedish man, from Old Norse mǫn, from Proto-Germanic *manō, from Proto-Indo-European *mono-, from Proto-Indo-European *men-.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

man c

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

Tagalog[edit]

Adverb[edit]

man

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

Tarpia[edit]

Noun[edit]

man

  1. bird

References[edit]

  • 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[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From English man.

Noun[edit]

man

  1. man (adult male human)
    • 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Port Moresby: Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, 2:5:
      (please add an English translation of this quote)

Adjective[edit]

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[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Torres Strait Creole[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From English man.

Noun[edit]

man

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

Venetian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin manus. Compare Italian mano.

Noun[edit]

man f (invariable)

  1. hand

Vietnamese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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

Pronunciation[edit]

Numeral[edit]

man

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

Derived terms[edit]

  • cơ man (“a large quantity of”)

Volapük[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English man (compare Dutch: man, Swedish: man, Norwegian: mann, German: Mann, German Low German: Mann, Yiddish: מאַן‎ (man, “man”)).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

man (nominative plural mans)

  1. man (adult male human)

Declension[edit]

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[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Terms derived from man

Welsh[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

man m or f (plural mannau)

  1. place

Mutation[edit]

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.

West Frisian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

man c (plural manlju or mannen, diminutive mantsje)

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

Further reading[edit]

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

Westrobothnian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse meðan, from Proto-Germanic *medanō.

Pronunciation[edit]

Conjunction[edit]

mān

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

Alternative forms[edit]

Wik-Mungkan[edit]

Noun[edit]

man

  1. neck

Derived terms[edit]

Wolof[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

man

  1. I (first-person singular subject pronoun)

See also[edit]

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[edit]

Noun[edit]

man

  1. man
  2. husband

Antonyms[edit]

References[edit]

  • J. Poole W. Barnes, A Glossary, with Some Pieces of Verse, of the Old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy (1867)

Zealandic[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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

Noun[edit]

man m (plural mannen)

  1. man
  2. husband
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=man&oldid=58719185"