man
English
Pronunciation
- IPA: /mæn/, X-SAMPA: /m{n/
-
Audio (UK) (file) -
Audio (US) (file) - (Jamaica) IPA: [mɑn], X-SAMPA: [mAn]
- (New Zealand, parts of South Africa) IPA: [mɛn], X-SAMPA: [mEn]
- Rhymes: -æn
Etymology 1
From Middle English man, from Old English mann (“human being, person, man”), from Proto-Germanic *mann- (“human being, man”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *man- (“man”) (compare also *men- (“mind”)). Cognate with West Frisian man, Dutch man, German Mann (“man”), Norwegian mann (“man”), Old Swedish maþer (“man”), Swedish man, Russian муж (muž, “male person”), Avestan 𐬨𐬀𐬥𐬱 (manuš), Sanskrit मनु (manu, “human being”).
Noun
man (plural men)
- An adult male human.
- This show is especially popular with middle-aged men.
- (collective) All humans collectively; mankind, humankind. Also 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.
- 1647, Westminster Shorter Catechism, question 10:
- An abstract person; a person of either gender, usually an adult.
- every man for himself
- A mensch; a person of integrity and honor.
- 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island
- He’s more a man than any pair of rats of you in this here house...
- 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island
- A piece or token used in board games such as chess.
- A person, often male, with duties or skills associated with a specified thing.
- I always wanted to be a guitar man on a road tour, but instead I’m a flag man on a road crew.
- A person, usually male, who is extremely fond of or devoted to a specified type of thing.
- Some people prefer apple pie, but me, I’m a cherry pie man.
- (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.
- 2011, Top Boy:
- (anthropology, archaeology, paleontology) A member of the species Homo sapiens, the genus Homo, or the subtribe Hominina.
Usage notes
- The most common modern sense of the word is “an adult male human”, not “a generic human” or “humankind”, which explains the awkwardness of the following sentence:
- Man, like other mammals, breastfeeds his young.[1]
- Nonsexist language advocates recommend the use of human, human being, humankind, and person depending on contexts instead of man.
Synonyms
- (adult male human): omi (Polari); see also Wikisaurus:man
- See also Wikisaurus:person
- See also Wikisaurus:board game piece
See also
Derived terms
Terms derived from man
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Translations
human
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adult male human
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piece in board games
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- 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 Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
Interjection
man
- An interjection used to place emphasis upon something or someone; sometimes, but not always, when actually addressing a man.
- Man, that was a great catch!
- (Geordie) Giv' is a bottle of dog man! [Dog here is referring to beer or brown ale.]
Quotations
- For usage examples of this term, see the citations page.
Translations
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 mannen (“to man”), German mannen (“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)
- (transitive) To supply with staff or crew (of either sex).
- The shipped was manned with a small crew.
- (transitive) To take up position in order to operate something.
- Man the machine guns!
Derived terms
- overman v
Translations
to supply with staff or crew
to take up position in order to operate something
- 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 Help:How to check translations.
References
- ^ Nonsexist Language Guideline, the University of New Hampshire.
Statistics
Anagrams
Albanian
↑Jump back a sectionChinook Jargon
↑Jump back a sectionDanish
Etymology 1
From Old Norse mǫn, from Proto-Indo-European *mon- (“neck”).
Pronunciation
- IPA: /maːn/, [mæːˀn]
Noun
man c (singular definite manen, plural indefinite maner)
- mane (longer hair growth on back of neck of a horse)
Inflection
Inflection of man
Related terms
- manke c
Etymology 2
From Old Norse menn, plural form of maðr (“man”). Transition to pronoun by German influence.
Pronunciation
- IPA: /man/, [man]
Pronoun
man (indefinite pronoun)
Etymology 3
See mane.
Pronunciation
- IPA: /maːn/, [mæːˀn]
Verb
man
- imperative of mane
Dutch
Pronunciation
Etymology
From Old Dutch man, from Proto-Germanic *mann-, probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *man-. Cognate with English and West Frisian man, German Mann, Danish mand.
Noun
man m (plural mannen, diminutive mannetje or manneke)
Derived terms
Related terms
Anagrams
Faroese
Verb
man
Conjugation
Conjugation of munna
Derived terms
- tað man vera (so) - this may be (so)
- tað man óivað vera beinari - this will doubtless be more correct
Pronoun
man
- (colloquial) one, they (indefinite third-person singular pronoun)
Synonyms
- (standard): mann
Galician
Etymology
From Latin manus. Compare Catalan mà, French main, Italian mano, Occitan man, Portuguese mão, Romanian mână, Sardinian manu, Spanish mano.
Noun
man f (plural mans)
German
Etymology
From the same source as Mann (“adult male”).[1]
Pronunciation
Pronoun
man
- (indefinite) one, they (indefinite third-person singular pronoun)
- was man sehen kann — what one can see
- 2008, Frank Behmeta, Wenn ich die Augen öffne, page 55:
- Kann man es fühlen, wenn man schwanger ist?
- Can a person feel it when he is pregnant?
- Kann man es fühlen, wenn man schwanger ist?
Usage notes
- Because man derives from the word for a “man” (an adult male), its use, especially when writing about women, is considered sexist by some. Feminists have proposed alternating man and frau. Compare the use of she vs he in English to refer to someone whose gender is unknown.
References
- ^ Theo Stemmler: Wie das Eisbein ins Lexikon kam, page 15, ISBN 978-3-411-72291-4.
German Low German
Etymology
From Old Saxon man, from Proto-Germanic *mann-, probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *man-.
Conjunction
man
Synonyms
- (in various dialects) avers, awer (and many variations thereof; for which, see those entries)
- (in some dialects) bloots
Icelandic
Pronunciation
Noun
man n (genitive singular mans)
- (chiefly poetic) maiden
Declension
declension of man
Derived terms
- mansal
Verb
man
- Past, first person of the verb of að muna I remember
- Ég man ekki.
- I don't remember.
- Ég man ekki.
- Past, third person of the verb of að muna he/she/it remembered
- Hann man hvað gerðist.
- He remembered what happened.
- Hann man hvað gerðist.
Mandarin
Romanization
man
- Nonstandard spelling of mān.
- Nonstandard spelling of mán.
- Nonstandard spelling of mǎn.
- Nonstandard spelling of màn.
Usage notes
English transcriptions of Chinese speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Chinese language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.
Norwegian Bokmål
↑Jump back a sectionNorwegian Nynorsk
Noun
man f (definite singular mana; indefinite plural maner; definite plural manene)
- mane (of a horse)
Occitan
↑Jump back a sectionOld Dutch
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *mann-, probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *man-. Compare Old Saxon man, Old High German man, Old Frisian man, mon, Old English mann, Old Norse maðr.
Noun
man m
Declension
Declension of man
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | man | manna |
| accusative | man | manna |
| genitive | mannis | manno |
| dative | manne | mannon |
Descendants
- Dutch: man
Old English
Etymology 1
From mann.
Pronunciation
- IPA: /mɑn/
Pronoun
man
Etymology 2
Cognate with Old Saxon mēn, Old High German mein, Old Norse mein.
Pronunciation
- IPA: /mɑːn/
Noun
mān n
Old High German
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *mann-, probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *man-. Compare Old Saxon man, Old Dutch man, Old English mann, Old Frisian man, mon, Old Norse maðr, Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌽𐌽𐌰 (manna).
Noun
man m
Descendants
Old Saxon
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *mann-, probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *man-. Compare Old English mann, Old Frisian man, mon, Old Dutch man, Old High German man, Old Norse maðr.
Noun
man m
Descendants
- German Low German: Mann
Scottish Gaelic
Preposition
man
- Alternative form of mar.
Usage notes
- Unlike mar, man does not lenite the following word.
Swedish
Etymology 1
From Old Swedish maþer, mander, from Old Norse maðr, from Proto-Germanic *mann-, probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *man-.
Pronunciation
Noun
man c
- a man (adult male human)
- a husband
- 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.
- I äldre tider sa man att björnen ägde sju mans styrka men en mans vett.
Declension
Declension of man 1, 2, 3
Declension of man 3
Pronoun
man c (accusative/dative en, plural ena, possesive ens, reflexive sig, possessive reflexive common sin, possessive reflexive neuter sitt, possessive reflexive plural sina)
Declension
Swedish personal pronouns
Etymology 2
From Old Norse mǫn, from Proto-Germanic *manō.
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˈmɑːn/
Noun
man c
- mane (of a horse or lion)
Declension
Declension of man
Tok Pisin
Etymology
From English man.
Noun
man
- man (adult male human)
- 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Genesis 2:5 (translation here):
- ...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.
- 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Genesis 2:5 (translation here):
Adjective
man
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
↑Jump back a sectionVolapük
Noun
man (plural mans)
- man (adult male human)
Declension
declension of man
Derived terms
Terms derived from man
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Welsh
Pronunciation
-
Audio (file)
Noun
man
Mutation
| Welsh mutation | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| radical | soft | nasal | aspirate |
| man | fan | unchanged | unchanged |
West Frisian
Etymology
From Old Frisian man, from Proto-Germanic *mann-, probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *man-. Compare English and Dutch man, German Mann, Danish mand.
Pronunciation
- IPA: /mɔn/
Noun
man (plural men or manlju)
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