woman

woman
woman [woom′ən]
n.
pl. women [wim′ən] [ME wumman < OE wimmann < wifmann < wif, female, WIFE + mann, human being, MAN: rounding of vowel due to infl. of the initial w-]
1.
a) the female human being
b) women collectively
2. an adult female human being
3. a female servant
4.
a) Dial. a wife
b) a sweetheart or a mistress
5. womanly qualities or characteristics; femininity [the woman in her]
adj.
1. of or characteristic of a woman or women; feminine
2. female [a woman scientist]
——————
the little woman
☆ Slang one's wife
——————
the other woman
Informal the woman with whom a married man had or is having an affair
SYN.- WOMAN is the standard general term for the adult human being of the sex distinguished from man; FEMALE, referring specif. to sex, is applied to plants and animals, but is now regarded as a mildly contemptuous equivalent for WOMAN [that strong-minded female is here again ], except in scientific, technical, or statistical use, as in population tables; LADY, used specif. of a woman of the upper classes and until recently commonly used in polite or genteel reference to any woman is now avoided as a general substitute for woman, except in such formulas as “ladies and gentlemen”

English World dictionary. . 2014.

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