myn

English

Etymology

Respelling of men based on womyn, which was itself respelled so as to be spelled differently from men.

Noun

myn pl (plural only)

1. (very rare, chiefly humorous) Alternative spelling of men (plural of man)
   • 1994, John Leo, Two Steps Ahead of the Thought Police →ISBN, page 41:

     Old Yeller — Senior animal companion of color.

     Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs — One of the monocultural oppressed womyn confronts the vertically challenged.

     Men at Arms — The myn are at it again.

   • 2000 April, Out, volume 8, number 10, page 54:

     […] the 12th Gulf Coast Womyn's Festival is here. (Once again, myn are strictly forbidden.) The weekend-long event holds the promise of craft markets, acoustic folk sing-alongs, and Southern-food potlucks.

   • 2005, Lisa Lees, Fragments of Gender →ISBN, page 30:

     I do not expect to be included in all 'womyn space' (nor, truth be told, do I wish to be). But if the choice is between womyn space and myn space, I sure as heck do not belong in the latter.

See also

• mxn

Anagrams

• -nym, nym

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Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch mijn, from Middle Dutch mine, from Old French mine, from Late Latin mina, from Gaulish, from Proto-Celtic *mēnis (“ore, metal”). Some senses were borrowed in Dutch from French mine (“explosive device”) and Middle French mine (“tunnel for sapping”).

Noun

myn (plural myne, diminutive myntjie)

1. mine (place or tunnel for the excavation of mineral resources)
2. mine (hidden device that explodes when triggered)
3. mine (tunnel used for sapping enemy defence works or lines)

Derived terms

• diamantmyn
• goudmyn
• koolmyn
• mynbou
• mynskag
• seemyn
• silwermyn

 

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Middle English

Determiner

myn (subjective pronoun I)

1. Alternative form of min

Pronoun

myn (subjective I)

1. Alternative form of min

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Welsh

Pronunciation

• (North Wales) IPA^(key): /mɨn/
• (South Wales) IPA^(key): /mɪn/

Etymology 1

Cognate with Cornish mynn, Irish meonnán, Scottish Gaelic meann and Manx mannan.

Noun

myn f (plural mynnau or mynnod)

1. kid (young goat)

   Synonym: myn gafr

Usage notes

The word myn is usually found in the combination myn gafr rather than being used as a standalone word.

Derived terms

• myn gafr (“kid, young goat”)

Etymology 2

Probably from mwyn.

Preposition

myn

1. by (used only in oaths)

   myn Duw ― by God!

   Synonym: neno

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present) , “myn”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

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West Frisian

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (Wood) IPA^(key): /min/
• (Clay) IPA^(key): /mɛɪ̯n/

Determiner

myn

1. my (first-person singular possessive determiner)

Derived terms

• mefrou
• mynhear

See also

West Frisian personal pronouns

Number	Person		Nominative	Objective		Possessive
				Normal	Reflexive	Determiner	Pronoun
Singular	First		ik	my	mysels	myn	mines
	Second	Informal	do/dû1	dy	dysels	dyn	dines
		Formal	jo	jo	josels	jo	jowes
	Third	Masculine	hy	him	himsels	syn	sines
		Feminine	sy/hja1	har	harsels	har	harres
		Neuter	it	it	himsels	syn	sines
Plural	First		wy	ús	ússels	ús	uzes
	Second		jim(me)	jim(me)	jimsels/jinsels	jim(me)	jimmes
	Third		sy/hja1	har(ren)	harsels	har(ren)	harres
1. Now mostly archaic and unused

Further reading

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