Wiktionary

man

See also: Appendix:Variations of "man"
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Translingual

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Symbol

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man

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

See also

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English

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Detail of a man from a Pioneer 11 spacecraft picture

Pronunciation

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  This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready.
Particularly: "Jamaican and South African pronunciation"

Etymology 1

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From Middle English man, from Old English mann m (“human being, person, man”), from Proto-West Germanic *mann, from Proto-Germanic *mann- m, from Proto-Indo-European *mon- (“human being, man”). Doublet of Manu.

See also Saterland Frisian Mon, West Frisian man, Dutch man, Low German Mann, German Mann, Swedish man, Norwegian Nynorsk mann, Danish mand.

Alternative forms

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  • (singular): mang (dialectal rendering, suggesting a Spanish accent), mane (dialectal rendering, suggesting an AAVE accent), mans (slang), mon (slang, used in the vocative, in places such as Jamaica and Shropshire in England), mxn (rare, feminist)
  • (plural): mans (MLE, Toronto, nonstandard, proscribed), mens, mandem (MLE),[1] mens (nonstandard, African-American Vernacular), mxn (rare, feminist), myn (very rare, chiefly humorous)

Noun

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man (plural men)

  1. An adult male human.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:man
    Coordinate terms: woman; boy, male
    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.
    • 1889, Rudyard Kipling, “A Wayside Comedy”, in Under the Deodars, Boston: The Greenock Press, published 1899, page 75:
      “I want you to know that I hate you, that I think you are a cur, and that I'll never, never speak to you again. Oh, I don't dare to say what I think of you, you — man!”
    • 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.
    1. (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.
    2. An adult male who belongs to a particular group: an employee, 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.
    3. 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 […].
    4. An adult male servant.
  2. A human, a person regardless of gender or sex, usually an adult.
    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: […] A[ugustine] M[atthews] for Thomas Iones, →OCLC, pages 415–416:
      No man is an Iland, intire of it ſelfe; euery 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.
    • 1793 August, Edmund Burke, “The Right Hon. Edmund Burke to the Comte de Mercy”, in Charles William [Wentworth-Fitzwilliam], [5th] Earl Fitzwilliam, Richard Bourke, editors, Correspondence of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke; Between the Year 1744, and the Period of His Decease, in 1797, volume IV, London: Francis & John Rivington, […], published 1844, pages 144–145:
      Without this help, such a deplorable havoc is made in the minds of men (both sexes) in France, still more than in the external order of things, and the evil is so great and spreading, that a remedy is impossible on any other terms.
    • 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?
    1. (collective) All humans collectively; mankind, humankind, humanity.
      Synonym: 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[2], 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.
      • 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. (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.
  5. 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 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.
  6. (uncountable, obsolete, uncommon) Manliness; the quality or state of being manly.
  7. A husband.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:husband
  8. A male lover; a boyfriend.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:boyfriend
    Hypernyms: see Thesaurus:lover
    Stay away from my man!
  9. Used as the last element of a compound.
    1. A male enthusiast or devotee; a male who is very fond of or devoted to a specified kind of thing.
      Some people prefer apple pie, but me, I’m a cherry pie man.
    2. A person, usually male, who has duties or skills associated with a specified thing.
      I wanted to be a guitar man on a road tour, but instead I’m a flag man on a road crew.
  10. 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.
  11. (historical) A vassal; a subject.
    Like master, like man.
    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.
  12. A piece or token used in board games such as backgammon.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:board game piece
    • 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.
  13. (video games) One of the player's chances to play, lost when the player's character dies or when certain mistakes are made.
    Synonym: life
    • 1983, William Brohaugh, “Q*Bert: A player's guide”, in Video & Arcade Games‎[3], volume 1, number 2, page 31:
      Most machines are set to award you an extra man after 8000 points, and then after each additional 14.000 points.
  15. 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!
  17. A term of familiar address usually reserved for other adult males. It works both with ones whose name is known and ones whose name is unknown.
    Near-synonyms: my man, bro, brother
    Hey, man, how's it goin'? I haven't seen you in months! [they know each other's name]
    Hey, man, thanks for holding the door! [they don't know each other's name, and it doesn't matter]
  18. (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."
    • 2023 March 26, Phil McNulty, “England 2-0 Ukraine”, in BBC Sport‎[4]:
      The second arrived three minutes later and was all Saka's own work, the Arsenal winger turning away from his man on the edge of the area and curling a superb effort beyond the reach of Anatoliy Trubin and into the top corner.
  19. (military slang) A soldier below the rank of a non-commissioned officer.
Usage notes
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  • 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 of 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", 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
Derived terms
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Descendants
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  • Tok Pisin: man
  • → Cantonese: man
  • → Chinook Jargon: man
  • → Korean: 맨 (maen)
  • → Mandarin: man (mān)
  • → Spanish: man
  • → Thai: แมน (mɛɛn)
  • → Volapük: man
Translations
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See man/translations § Noun.

Adjective

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man (not comparable)

  1. Only used in man enough

Interjection

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man

  1. Used to place emphasis upon something or someone; sometimes, but not always, when actually addressing a man.
    Alternative form: maaan (elongated)
    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[5]:
      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
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See man/translations § Interjection.

Pronoun

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man

  1. (MLE, slang, personal pronoun) Used to refer to oneself or one's group: I, we; construed in the third person.
    Man's got some new creps.
    • 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[6], 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 September 22, “Man's Not Hot”‎[7]performed by Big Shaq [Michael Dapaah]:
      The girl told me, "take off your jacket" / I said, "Babe, man's not hot" (never hot)
    • 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, personal pronoun) You; construed in the third person.
    Man thinks I was born yesterday.
    • 2023, Nathan Bryon, Tom Melia, directed by Raine Allen-Miller, Rye Lane, spoken by Nathan (Simon Manyonda):
      Oh, come on. Help a brother out. People see you coppin', might inspire them. Look, I know you ain't payin' bills right now. Man must have bare peas saved up.
  3. (MLE, slang, indefinite personal pronoun) Any person, one
    Man don't care.
    • c. 1450, 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[8], 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, MLE corpus [MLE])
Usage notes
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  • The usage of man as a pronoun originally died out in the 15th century. It has independently reappeared in MLE. 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]
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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From Middle English mannen, from Old English mannian, ġemannian (“to man, supply with men, populate, garrison”), from mann (“human being, man”).

Cognates

Verb

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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.
    • 2023 March 8, David Clough, “The long road that led to Beeching”, in RAIL, number 978, page 39:
      In Britain, nearly 2,500 steam locomotives were built, 999 to new designs. Although the latter were modern, they were still labour-intensive to man and maintain, during a period of full employment when working for poor pay in the dirty railway environment was unattractive.
  2. (transitive) To take up position in order to operate (something).
    Man the machine guns!
    • 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick:
      ‘Avast!’ roared Ahab, dashing him against the bulwarks — ‘Man the boat! Which way heading?’
  3. (reflexive, possibly dated) To brace (oneself), to fortify or steel (oneself) in a manly way. (Compare man up.)
    • 2021 October 14, Oren Liebermann, “CENTCOM disputes Air Force account of attempted hijacking at Kabul airport during Afghanistan evacuation”, in CNN‎[9]:
      “To stay open, the senior enlisted leader of U.S. Forces-Afghanistan Forward said he needed people to cover security,” Duncan wrote. “Personnel Recovery Task Force (PRTF) Pilots, maintainers and support personnel donned their vests, helmets and M-4 rifles and manned defensive fighting positions.”
    • 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
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Translations
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See man/translations § Verb.

Etymology 3

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Clipping of manual.

Proper noun

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man

  1. (computing) A command used to display help pages in Unix and Unix-like operating systems.
Derived terms
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References

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  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 608–633
  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. ^ “man”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Abinomn

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Noun

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man

  1. moon

Afrikaans

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Etymology

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From Dutch man, from Middle Dutch man, from Old Dutch man, from Proto-Germanic *mann-, from Proto-Indo-European *mon- (“human being, man”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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man (plural mans or manne, diminutive mannetjie)

  1. man
  2. husband

Usage notes

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  • 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

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Mulberries on a tree.

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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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

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Noun

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

  1. mulberry, mulberry tree

Declension

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Declension of man
singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative man mani mana manat
accusative manin
dative mani manit manave manave
ablative manash

Hyponyms

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Aragonese

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Etymology

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Akin to Spanish mano, from Latin manus.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈman/
  • Syllabification: man
  • Rhymes: -an

Noun

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man f (plural mans)

  1. hand

Arigidi

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Pronoun

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man

  1. I, first person singular pronoun, as subject

References

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  • B. Oshodi, The HTS (High Tone Syllable) in Arigidi: An Introduction, in the Nordic Journal of African Studies 20(4): 263–275 (2011)\
  • Boluwaji Oshodi (2011 December) A Reference Grammar of Arigidi, Montem Paperbacks, →ISBN

Bagirmi

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Noun

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man

  1. water

References

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

Baltic Romani

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Pronoun

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man

  1. (Litovska) accusative/independent oblique of mē
    • 2011, Vida Beinortienė, Romų kalba [Roma Language]‎[10] (overall work in Lithuanian), Panevėžio Vaikų Dienos Užimtumo Centras [Panevėžys Children's Day Care Center], →ISBN, posakiai [expressions], page 64:
      Pačemudē man
      Kiss me
  2. (Litovska) enclitic reflexive of mē
    • 2005, Anton Tenser, Lithuanian Romani, Lincom Europa, →ISBN, →OCLC, 2.7.3 Reflexives and clitics, page 18:
      Me garavou man
      I hide myself

Declension

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Litovska/Lithuanian Romani personal pronouns
singular plural reflexive
1st person 2nd person 3rd person 1st person 2nd person 3rd person
m f
Nominative mē tu jou joj amē tumē jonē -
Accusative/
Independent Oblique 		man tut lēs la amēn tumēn lēn pes
Dative mange tuke lēske lake amēnge tumēnge lēnge pēske
Ablative [1] mandyr tutyr lēstyr latyr amēndyr tumēndyr lēndyr pēstyr
Genitive m miro tyro lēskiro lakiro amaro tumaro lēngiro pēskiro
f miri tyri lēskiri lakiri amari tumari lēngiri pēskiri
pl mirē tyrē lēskirē lakirē amarē tumarē lēngirē pēskirē
Locative mandē tutē lēstē latē amēndē tumēndē lēndē pēstē
Instrumental mansa tusa lēsa lasa amēnca tumēnca lēnsa pēsa
Enclitic Reflexive man pe amēn pe -
  1. ^ The ablative is in decline in Lithuanian Romani

Bariai

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Noun

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man

  1. bird

References

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Bau Bidayuh

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Etymology

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Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kaən, from Proto-Austronesian *kaən. Cognate with Malay makan.

Pronunciation

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/man/

Noun

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man

  1. to eat
    man tubi' ― eat rice

Further reading

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Bikol Central

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Etymology

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Inherited from Proto-Philippine *man.

Pronunciation

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Adverb

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man (Basahan spelling ᜋᜈ᜔)

  1. also
    Synonym: pati

Particle

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man (Basahan spelling ᜋᜈ᜔)

  1. used to abate or soften the impacts of negatives and commands
    Dai man iyan ― It's nothing.

Bonggo

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Noun

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man

  1. bird

References

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

Caló

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Pronoun

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man

  1. Contraction of mangue (“I, me”).

References

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  • “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

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Etymology

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Inherited from Proto-Philippine *man. Compare Tagalog man.

Pronunciation

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Particle

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man (Badlit spelling ᜋᜈ᜔)

  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

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English man.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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man

  1. (informal) manly; masculine

See also

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Chinook Jargon

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English man.

Noun

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man

  1. man

Synonyms

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Antonyms

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Adjective

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man

  1. male

Antonyms

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Chuukese

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Noun

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man

  1. Alternative spelling of maan

Cimbrian

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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

Noun

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man m (Tredici Comuni)

  1. man
  2. husband

References

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Czech

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Noun

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man m anim (female equivalent manka)

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

Declension

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Declension of man (hard masculine animate)
singular plural
nominative man manové
genitive mana manů
dative manovi, manu manům
accusative mana many
vocative mane manové
locative manovi, manu manech
instrumental manem many

Derived terms

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Further reading

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  • “man”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
  • “man”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

Danish

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Etymology 1

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From Old Norse mǫn, from Proto-Germanic *manō (“mane”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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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
Declension
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Declension of man
common
gender 		singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative man manen maner manerne
genitive mans manens maners manernes

Etymology 2

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The same word as the noun mand (“man”). Calque of German man.

Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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man (accusative en or én, possessive ens or éns)

  1. you, one, they, people (a general, unspecified person)
    Kan man spise dem?
    Can one eat them? (i.e., Are they edible?)
    Man siger, at huset er hjemsøgt.
    They say the house is haunted.
  2. I (used modestly instead of the first-person pronoun)
  3. you (used derogatorily instead of the second-person pronoun)

Etymology 3

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See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /maːˀn/, [ˈmæˀn]

Verb

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man

  1. imperative of mane

Dutch

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Dutch Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nl

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Noun

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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 man liep rustig door het park. ― The man walked calmly through the park.
    De jonge mannen speelden voetbal op het veld. ― The young men were playing soccer on the field.
    De oudere man glimlachte vriendelijk naar de kinderen. ― The older man smiled kindly at the children.
  2. husband, male spouse
    Ze is al jaren gelukkig getrouwd met haar man. ― She has been happily married to her husband for years.
    Hij is een zorgzame man en een geweldige vader. ― He is a caring husband and a great father.
    Haar man verraste haar met een romantisch diner. ― Her husband surprised her with a romantic dinner.

Usage notes

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  • 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 / mennechie.

Derived terms

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Descendants

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

Interjection

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man

  1. Indicates that something is larger/stronger/... than usual.
    Man, is me dat schrikken.
    Man, that was quite some scare.

Coordinate terms

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Anagrams

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Emilian

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Etymology

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From Latin manus

Pronunciation

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Noun

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man f (plural man)

  1. hand

Fala

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Etymology

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From Old Galician-Portuguese mão, from Latin manus.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈman/
  • Rhymes: -an
  • Syllabification: man

Noun

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man f (plural mans or más)

  1. hand

References

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  • Valeš, Miroslav (2021) Diccionariu de A Fala: lagarteiru, mañegu, valverdeñu (web)‎[11], 2nd edition, Minde, Portugal: CIDLeS, published 2022, →ISBN

Faroese

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Verb

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man

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

Derived terms

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Pronoun

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man

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

Synonyms

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Franco-Provençal

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Franco-Provençal Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia frp

Etymology

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Inherited from Latin manus.

Noun

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man f (plural mans) (ORB, broad)

  1. hand

References

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  • main in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
  • man in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

French

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Etymology

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Blend of mon +‎ ma.

Pronunciation

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Determiner

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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.
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French possessive determiners
possessee
singular plural
m f
possessor singular 1st mon1 ma mes
2nd ton1 ta tes
3rd son1 sa ses
plural 1st notre nos
2nd votre2 vos2
3rd leur leurs
1 Also used before feminine adjectives and nouns beginning with a vowel or mute h.
2 Also used as the polite singular form.
For the singular persons there are gender-neutral neologisms man, tan, san. These are extremely rare.

See also

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Further reading

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Friulian

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Etymology

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From Latin manus.

Noun

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man m (plural mans)

  1. hand

Gaikundi

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Noun

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man

  1. foot

Further reading

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Galician

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Alternative forms

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

Etymology

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

Noun

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man f (plural mans)

  1. hand
  2. (figurative) ownership; protection; power; grasp

Usage notes

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Derived terms

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References

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German

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle High German man, from Old High German man, from Proto-West Germanic *mann, from Proto-Germanic *mann- (“person”).

Pronoun

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man

  1. one, you, they (indefinite pronoun, referring to people at large; 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.
    Zumindest sagt man das so...
    At least that’s what they say...
    • 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?
Usage notes
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  • 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

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

Adverb

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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

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German Low German

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Etymology

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

Conjunction

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man

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

Synonyms

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

Gothic

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Romanization

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man

  1. Romanization of 𐌼𐌰𐌽

Icelandic

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

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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

Noun

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man n (genitive singular mans, nominative plural mön)

  1. (obsolete, uncountable, collective) slaves
  2. (archaic, countable) female slave
    Synonym: ambátt
  3. (archaic or poetic, countable) maiden
Declension
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Declension of man (neuter)
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
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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

Noun

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man n (genitive singular mans, no plural)

  1. the act of daring someone to do something; provocation, dare
Declension
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Declension of man (sg-only neuter)
singular
indefinite definite
nominative man manið
accusative man manið
dative mani maninu
genitive mans mansins

Etymology 3

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

Noun

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man n (indeclinable)

  1. (biblical, obsolete) manna
    Synonym: manna
    • 1584, “Exodus. Aunnur Bok Moſe”, in Guðbrandur Þorláksson, transl., Biblia, Þad Er Øll Heiloͤg Ritning vtloͤgd a Norrænu‎[12], 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)

Etymology 4

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Verb

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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

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Istriot

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Etymology

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From Latin manus.

Noun

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man m

  1. hand

Jamaican Creole

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Etymology

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Derived from English man.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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man (plural man dem, quantified man)

  1. man (adult male human)
    • 2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, 1 Korintiyan 11:11:
      Dat no miin se man kyan du widout uman ar uman widout man, kaaz Gad neva mek dem fi du widout dem wan aneda.
      So then, I have to insist that in the Lord, neither is woman inferior to man nor is man inferior to woman.
  2. a fellow, friend, person (of any gender)
    • 2002, Frederic Cassidy Gomes, Dictionary of Jamaican English‎[13]:
      "No-no, not a man a get this pretty one."
      "No no, nobody is going to have this pretty one."

Adjective

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man

  1. male
    man daag, uman daag
    male dog, female dog

Coordinate terms

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See also

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Further reading

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  • man at majstro.com

Japanese

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Romanization

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man

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

Kapampangan

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Etymology

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From Proto-Philippine *man.

Pronunciation

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Adverb

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man

  1. although; even if; even though
    Synonyms: mo, agyang pa
  2. also; too
    Synonyms: din, pati
  3. only; even
    Synonyms: mu, mo
  4. if; when
    Synonyms: nung, patie, istung, anyang
    Mipakananuman. ― No matter what happens.
    Yakuman. ― Me as well.
    Apagpilian taman. ― If only I have a choice.

Derived terms

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Ladin

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Etymology

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From Latin manus.

Noun

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man f (plural mans)

  1. (Gherdëina, Badiot, Fascian) hand
    Auzé la man ciancia.
    To lift the left hand.
    L ie na lëtra scrita a man.
    It's a letter written by hand.
    Dé na man
    To give a hand (to help)

Latvian

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Pronoun

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man

  1. to me; dative singular of es

Ligurian

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Etymology

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From Latin manus.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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man f (plural moæn)

  1. hand

Lithuanian

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Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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mán

  1. first-person singular dative of aš
    Dúok mán tą̃ knỹgą.
    Give me that book.

Lombard

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Alternative forms

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  • ma, mà (Eastern orthographies)

Etymology

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From Latin manus.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

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man f (plural man)

  1. hand

Luxembourgish

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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

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

Mandarin

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Romanization

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man

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

Usage notes

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  • 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

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Etymology

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

Noun

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man m

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

Inflection

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This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Derived terms

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- general:

- persons:

Descendants

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

Further reading

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Middle English

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Etymology 1

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Inherited from Old English mann, from Proto-West Germanic *mann, from Proto-Germanic *mann-, from Proto-Indo-European *mon-.

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /man/, (mostly West Midlands) /mɔn/

Noun

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man (plural men)

  1. man (male human)
    Synonyms: gome, wer
  2. human, person
    Synonym: persoun
    • c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.)‎[14], published c. 1410, James 1:12, page 109v, column 2; republished as Wycliffe's translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:
      bleſſid is þe man þat ſuffriþ temptacioun / foꝛ whanne he ſchal be pꝛeued .· he ſchal reſſeyue þe coꝛoun of lijf · which god bihiȝte to men þat louen hym
      A person who endures temptation is blessed, because when they've been tested, they'll receive the crown of life that God promised to the people who love him.
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Descendants
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  • English: man, -man (see there for further descendants)
  • Scots: man
  • Yola: man

Etymology 2

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From Old English man, reduced form of mann; see Etymology 1 above.

Alternative forms

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Pronoun

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man

  2. Typically singular, indefinite pronoun: one, you (indefinite).
Derived terms
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See also
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References
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Etymology 3

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Verb

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man

  1. (Late Middle English) Alternative form of mone (“shall”)

Middle High German

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Etymology

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Inherited from Old High German man.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): (before 13th CE) /ˈman/

Noun

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man m (genitive mannes or man, plural manne or man)

  1. man

Usage notes

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  • This word is either declined like tac or remains uninflected throughout.

Declension

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Declension of man (strong masculine without umlaut)
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein dër man die manne, man
genitive eines dës mannes, man dër manne, man
dative eime dëm manne, man dën mannen, man
accusative einen dën man die manne, man

Descendants

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References

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  • Benecke, Georg Friedrich, Müller, Wilhelm, Zarncke, Friedrich (1863) “man”, in Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch: mit Benutzung des Nachlasses von Benecke, Stuttgart: S. Hirzel

Miskito

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Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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man

  1. (in the singular) you

See also

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Miskito personal pronouns
singular plural
first inclusive yang yawan
exclusive yang nani
second man man nani
third witin witin nani

Norman

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Norman Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nrf

Alternative forms

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Etymology 1

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From Old French main, mein, man, from Latin manus (“hand”).

Noun

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man f (plural mans)

  1. (France, anatomy) hand

Etymology 2

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

Adjective

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man (feminine ma)

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

North Frisian

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Etymology

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

Determiner

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man (feminine and neuter min, plural min) (Föhr-Amrum, Mooring)

  1. my (first-person singular possessive determiner)

Pronoun

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man (feminine and neuter min, plural (Föhr-Amrum) minen or (Mooring) min) (Föhr-Amrum, Mooring)

  1. mine (first-person singular possessive pronoun)

See also

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Personal and possessive pronouns (Föhr-Amrum dialect)
personal possessive
subject case object case masculine referent feminine / neuter referent plural referent
full reduced full reduced attributive independent
singular 1st ik 'k mi man min minen
2nd dü – di dan din dinen
3rd m hi 'r ham 'n san sin sinen
f or n hat at, 't at, 't
plural 1st wi 'f üs üüs üüsen
üsens
2nd jam 'm jam jau jauen
jamens
3rd jo 's jo 's hör hören
hörens
  • The reduced forms with an apostrophe are enclitic; they immediately follow verbs or conjunctions. Dü is deleted altogether in such contexts.
  • At is not enclitic; it can stand in any unstressed position and refers mostly to things. In reflexive use, only full object forms occur.
  • Dual forms wat / onk and jat / jonk are obsolete, as is feminine jü / hör.
  • Independent possessives are distinguished from attributive ones only with plural referents.
  • The forms üsens, jamens, hörens are used optionally (and decreasingly) when the possessor is a larger community, such as a village, city or nation.
Personal and possessive pronouns (Mooring dialect)
personal possessive
subject case object case masculine
referent 		feminine / neuter / plural
referent
full reduced full reduced
singular 1st ik 'k me man min
2nd dü – de dan din
3rd m hi 'r ham 'n san sin
f jü 's har 's harn har
n hat et, 't ham et, 't san sin
plural 1st we üs üüsen üüs
2nd jam 'm jam jarnge
3rd ja 's ja, jam 's jare

The reduced forms with an apostrophe are enclitic; they immediately follow verbs or conjunctions. Dü is deleted altogether in such contexts.
Et is not enclitic and can stand in any unstressed position; the full subject form hat is now rarely used. In reflexive use, only full object forms occur.
Dual forms wat / unk and jat / junk are obsolete. Attributive and independent possessives are not distinguished in Mooring.

Personal and possessive pronouns (Sylt dialect)
personal possessive
subject case object case singular
referent 		plural referent
full reduced full reduced attributive independent
singular 1st ik 'k mi min minen
2nd dü – di din dinen
3rd m hi 'r höm 'n sin sinen
f jü 's höör 's höör höören
n hat et, 't höm et, 't sin sinen
dual 1st wat unk unk unken
2nd at junk junk junken
3rd jat jam 's jaar jaaren
plural 1st wü üüs üüs üüsen
2nd i juu juu juuen
3rd ja 's jam 's jaar jaaren
  • The reduced forms with an apostrophe are enclitic; they immediately follow verbs or conjunctions. Dü is deleted altogether in such contexts.
  • Et is not enclitic and can stand in any unstressed position; the full subject form hat is now rarely used. In reflexive use, only full object forms occur.
  • The dual forms are dated, but not obsolete as in other dialects.
  • Independent possessives are distinguished from attributive ones only with plural referents.

Northern Kurdish

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Etymology

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From earlier *mandin, which is preserved in the present stem mîn-; akin to Central Kurdish مان (man), Southern Kurdish مەندن (menin), Zazaki menden, Gurani مەندەی (meney), Talysh mande, Persian ماندن. The form shift from -and- to -a- is after when -and- standardized as the past stem final of transitive verbs, but has been preserved in mandî (“tired”).

Verb

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man

  1. to stay
  2. to remain
  3. to live, to not perish

Northern Sami

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Pronoun

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man

  1. accusative/genitive singular of mii

Norwegian Bokmål

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Etymology 1

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Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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man

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

Etymology 2

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From Old Norse mǫn, from Proto-Germanic *manō.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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

  1. a mane (of a horse)

References

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Norwegian Nynorsk

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Etymology

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From Old Norse mǫn, from Proto-Germanic *manō.

Noun

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

  1. mane (of a horse)

References

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Occitan

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Etymology

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From Old Occitan man, from Latin manus.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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man f (plural mans)

  1. hand

Old Dutch

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Etymology

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From Proto-West Germanic *mann, from Proto-Germanic *mann-.

Noun

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man m

  1. human, person
  2. man, male

Inflection

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Declension of man (consonant stem)
case singular plural
nominative man man
accusative man man
genitive mannes manno
dative manne mannon

Derived terms

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Descendants

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Further reading

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

Old English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology 1

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From mann.

Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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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.
      One has to talk to laymen according to how much they understand, so they are not intimidated by the depth of what one is saying or bored by the length.
    • 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.
    • c. 897, Alfred the Great, translation of Pope Gregory's Pastoral Care
      Hēr man mæġ ġīet ġesēon heora swaðu, ac wē him ne cunnon æfter spyrian.
      Here you can still see their footprints, but we don't know how to follow them.
  2. they, people (people in general)
  3. someone, somebody (some unspecified person)
    • c. 1005, Wulfstan, Laws of Edward and Guthrum‎[15]:
      Ġif dēaþsċyldiġ man sċriftsprǣċe ġierne, ne him man nǣfre ne wierne.
      If someone condemned to death desires confession, it should never be refused to them.
  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.
  6. it
    • c. 900, translation of Orosius' History Against the Pagans
      Man ġeseah swelċe sē heofon burne.
      It looked like the sky was on fire.
    • late 9th century, translation of Bede's Ecclesiastical History
      Man ġeseah swelċe ān fȳren hring norðan cōme.
      It looked like a ring of fire was coming from the north.
    • c. 1005, Wulfstan, Laws of Edward and Guthrum‎[16]:
      Ġif dēaþsċyldiġ man sċriftsprǣċe ġierne, ne him man nǣfre ne wierne.
      If someone condemned to death desires confession, it should never be refused to them.
Descendants
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Etymology 2

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See mann.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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man m

  1. Alternative form of mann
Declension
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Strong consonant stem:

singular plural
nominative man men
accusative man men
genitive manes mana
dative men manum

Etymology 3

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From Proto-Germanic *mainą.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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mān n

  1. crime, sin, wickedness
Derived terms
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Old High German

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Etymology

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From Proto-West Germanic *mann, from Proto-Germanic *mann-.

Noun

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man m

  1. man

Declension

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Declension of man (masculine a-stem)
case singular plural
nominative man mannā, manna
accusative man mannā, manna
genitive mannes manno
dative manne mannum
instrumental mannu —
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Descendants

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Old Norse

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Etymology

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

Noun

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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

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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

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Descendants

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Further reading

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  • Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) “man”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive

Old Occitan

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Etymology

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From Latin manus.

Noun

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

  1. hand (anatomy)

Descendants

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References

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Old Saxon

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Noun

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man m

  1. Alternative form of mann

Old Spanish

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Etymology

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From Latin māne (“morning”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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man f (plural manes)

  1. morning
    • c. 1200, Almerich, Fazienda de Ultramar, f. 18r:
      Fue el dia t̃cero al alba dela man. ⁊ vinẏerõ truenos ⁊ relãpagos ⁊ nuf grãt ſobrel mõt.
      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

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Papiamentu

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Etymology

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From Spanish mano.

Noun

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man

  1. hand

Polabian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Middle Low German man. Compare Saterland Frisian man

Conjunction

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man

  1. but

References

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  • The template Template:R:pox:SejDp does not use the parameter(s): 
    3=3
    Please see Module:checkparams for help with this warning.    Polański, Kazimierz (1973) “man”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka Drzewian połabskich [Etymological Dictionary of the Polabian Drevani Language] (in Polish), number 3 (ľǫ̇dü – perĕ), Wrocław, Warszawa etc.: Ossolineum, page 356
  • Polański, Kazimierz, James Allen Sehnert (1967) “man”, in Polabian-English Dictionary, The Hague, Paris: Mouton & Co, page 92
  • Olesch, Reinhold (1962) “Mann”, in Thesaurus Linguae Dravaenopolabicae [Thesaurus of the Drevani language] (in German), volumes 1: A – O, Cologne, Vienna: Böhlau Verlag, →ISBN, page 552

Romani

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Pronoun

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man

  1. accusative of me

Sambali

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Adverb

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man

  1. also

Saterland Frisian

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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

Conjunction

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man

  1. but

Adverb

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man

  1. but, just

Etymology 2

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

Pronoun

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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 [The New Testament and the Psalms in the East Frisian language, native to Saterland, Friesland, Butjadingen, East Frisia and the Ommelanden of Groningen], →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.
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  • Mon (“man, husband”)

References

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

Scottish Gaelic

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Pronunciation

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Preposition

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man (+ nominative with the definite article, + dative otherwise, no mutation)

  1. Lewis form of mar

References

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  1. ^ Oftedal, M. (1956) A linguistic survey of the Gaelic dialects of Scotland, Vol. III: The Gaelic of Leurbost, Isle of Lewis, Oslo: Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap

Spanish

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English man.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈman/ [ˈmãn]
  • Rhymes: -an
  • Syllabification: man

Noun

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man m (plural mans or manes)

  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
      I heard you were feeling down / That you'd been drinking and took off with some guy

Further reading

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Sranan Tongo

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Etymology

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From English man.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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man

  1. man, male human
    A man no ben man taki. ― The man could not speak.

Derived terms

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Verb

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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 and Boogie:
      Te yu no man fu tyari akata / yu no mu trobi matuku
      If you aren't able to carry a head pad / you shouldn't bother with a basket

Synonyms

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Sumerian

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Romanization

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man

  1. Romanization of 𒎙

Swedish

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Swedish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia sv
 
en man

Etymology 1

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From Old Swedish maþer, mander, from Old Norse maðr, from Proto-Germanic *mann-.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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man c

  1. man (adult male human)
    En man går på gatan.
    A man walks on the street.
    män och kvinnor
    men and women
    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.
  4. (slang, in the definite "mannen") man (usually friendly term of address)
    Jalla, mannen!
    Hurry up, man!
Usage notes
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(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 and Dutch where Mann and man can have an unchanged plural form in this particular case.

(husband): Not used in other contexts, where it could be confused with a man in general.

Declension
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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
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See also
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(husband): make, gemål

Pronoun

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man c

  2. (indefinite) people in general (in some implied group, often all people); one, you, they, people, etc.
    • 1984, Adolphson & Falk, “I fördatorisk tid [In pre-computer times [Literally, "In pre-computerish/computeric time" – sounds ad hoc in Swedish as well. Could also be translated as "In a pre-computer age/time" or the like.]]”, in Över tid och rum [Across time and space]‎[17]:
      För länge, länge sen såg inte världen ut som nu. Man levde inte alls på samma sätt som jag och du. Man hade ständiga problem med sin kommunikation. För att göra sig hörd var man tvungen att ta ton. Man siktade mot mål, men man träffade bredvid, för inget var exakt i en fördatorisk tid. Man sände sina dokument med män i uniform, som färdades på snö och is i hällregn och storm. Man köpte sina tjänster med papper och metall – ett besynnerligt system som fick imperier på fall. Man sa att grunden var solid, men staten kom på glid, för system var instabila i en fördatorisk tid. Tiderna förändras. Andra ska ta vid. Sanningar föråldras. De formas av sin egen tid. Man byggde stora städer där man trängdes med varann – där man omgav sig med dån och larm och stod i rök och damm. Man sökte efter ledare med styrka och förstånd, som skulle föra folket bort från krig och undergång. En roll alltför komplex för en enda individ, så inget blev beständigt i en fördatorisk tid. Tiderna förändras. Andra ska ta vid. Sanningar föråldras. Man formas av sin egen tid. Man måste stiga upp varje vardag klockan fem, för att stå vid en maskin tills det blev kväll och man gick hem. Man levde under hot, på gränsen till panik, så man sökte efter sanningen i stjärnornas mystik. Man talade om fred, men man låg i ständig strid, för man förlitade sig på människan i fördatorisk tid.
      A long, long time ago, the world was different from today [did not look like now]. People [one] did not at all live in the same way as me and you [literally translated]. You [one] had constant problems with your [one's] communication. To make yourself [oneself] heard, you [one] had to speak up [take tone]. You [one] aimed for goals [or targets], but you [one] hit next to them [hit next-to/beside (the goal/target, missing it)], because nothing was exact in a pre-computer time. You [one] sent your [one's] documents with men in uniform, who traveled on snow and ice in pouring rain and storm. You [one] bought your [one's] services with paper and metal – a peculiar [strange] system that brought empires down ["got empires on fall"]. People [one] said that the foundation was solid, but the state started slipping [went [came] on the slide [on slide]], because systems were unstable in a pre-computer time. [The] times change. Others will follow/ensue [shall pick up]. Truths become outdated ["are en-aged"]. They are shaped by their own time. People [one] built large cities where they [one] crowded together [thronged with one another] – where they [one] surrounded themselves [oneself] with roar and racket and stood in smoke and dust. They [one] sought leaders with strength and reason, that would lead [or bring] the people away from war and ruin [or "doom," or "destruction" in the sense of ruin/doom]. A role much too complex for a single individual, so nothing endured [became enduring] in a pre-computer time. [The] times change. Others will follow/ensue [shall pick up]. Truths become outdated ["are en-aged"]. You [one] are shaped by your [one's] own time. You [one] had to get up every weekday at five, to stand at a machine until the evening and then go home [until it became evening and you [one] went home]. You [one] lived under threat, on the verge of panic, so you [one] searched for the truth in the mystery of the stars [in the stars' mystique]. People [one] spoke of peace, but they [one] were [lay] in constant conflict [battle], because you [one] relied on [and put your trust in] man/humans ["the human" – the human species or humans collectively] in pre-computer times.
  3. (indefinite, often humorous) I (referring to oneself obliquely)
    Synonym: jag
    Man har väl varit med förr!
    This isn't my first rodeo! [One has väl been with [involved] before!]
Usage notes
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  • Intuited as a singular pronoun referring to people individually in a generalized sense, like English one.
  • Man does not sound formal the way English one might when used instead of you. Man is usually the only option when either you or one might be used in English, as Swedish du (“you”) and ni (“you (plural)”) sound more like "you specifically." See the quotations for (sense 1) above for examples of how man can be translated while preserving tone.
  • See the usage notes for bli and skall for two other examples of words that have a direct translation that is often unidiomatic or a poor match for tone.
Declension
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See Template:sv-decl-ppron for more pronouns.

Derived terms
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See also
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Etymology 2

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From Old Swedish man, from Old Norse mǫn, from Proto-Germanic *manō.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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man c

  1. mane (of a horse or lion)
Declension
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Declension of man
nominative genitive
singular indefinite man mans
definite manen manens
plural indefinite manar manars
definite manarna manarnas

References

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Anagrams

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Tagalog

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Etymology

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Inherited from Proto-Philippine *man (“particle expressing solidarity, concession, qualification, or emphasis”).

Pronunciation

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Adverb

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man (Baybayin spelling ᜋᜈ᜔)

  1. even (implying extreme example)
    Hindi man lang siya tumawag.
    She did not even at least call.
  2. although; even if; even though
    Synonyms: kahit, maski, bagaman
  3. even; also; too
    Synonyms: din, pati
    Ang bagong panganak man ay may karapatan.
    Even the newborn has rights.

Usage notes

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  • The word cannot be at the start of a sentence.

Derived terms

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See also

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Further reading

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  • “man”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018
  • Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*man”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

Tarpia

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Noun

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man

  1. bird

References

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  • 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

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Etymology

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From English man.

Noun

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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

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man

  1. male

Antonyms

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Derived terms

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Torres Strait Creole

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Etymology

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From English man.

Noun

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man

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

Venetan

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Etymology

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From Latin manus.

Noun

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man f (invariable)

  1. hand

Vietnamese

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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

Numeral

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man

  1. (obsolete, as a free morpheme) ten thousand; myriad
    một man ― ten thousand
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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Romanization

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man

  1. Sino-Vietnamese reading of 瞞
Derived terms
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Etymology 3

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Compare Mán, which is might be a cognate.

Romanization

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man

  1. Sino-Vietnamese reading of 蠻
Derived terms
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Anagrams

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Volapük

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Etymology

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Borrowed from the descendants of Proto-West Germanic *mann.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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man (nominative plural mans)

  1. man (adult male human)
    • 1932, Arie de Jong, Leerboek der Wereldtaal, page 16:
      Man, älogöl atosi, äfugom.
      On seeing this, the man fled.
    • 1952, Arie de Jong, Diatek nulik: Gospul ma ‚Matthaeus’. Kapit: I:
      ‚Ioseph’: himatan ofa, bi äbinom man ritik, e no ävilom jonetükön ofi len jemodastafäd, ädesinom ad lüvön kläno ofi.
      Her husband Joseph, being an upright man and wanting to spare her disgrace, decided to divorce her informally.

Declension

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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

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Derived terms

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Derived terms

Welsh

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle Welsh mann, from Proto-Celtic *mendu (“mark, location”), from Proto-Indo-European *men-dʰh₁u-. Cognate with Old Irish mind (“crown”), and also related to Old Irish mennar (“blemish, stain”); outside of Celtic, cognate with Latin mendum (“fault, blemish”), Hittite [script needed] (mant-, “something harming”).

Noun

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man f or m (plural mannau or mannoedd)

  1. place; location
    Synonyms: lle, lleoliad, safle
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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Possibly from Latin menda (“defect, blemish, mistake”), from Proto-Indo-European *mend- (“physical defect, fault”); if so, then from the same origin as Etymology 1. See Old Irish mennar (“blemish, stain”).

Noun

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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

Etymology 3

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

Noun

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man m

  1. (uncommon) manna
    Synonym: manna

Mutation

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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

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  • 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

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Noun

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man c (plural manlju or mannen, diminutive mantsje)

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

Further reading

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

Wik-Mungkan

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Noun

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man

  1. neck

Derived terms

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Wolof

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Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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man

  1. I (first-person singular subject pronoun)

See also

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Wolof personal pronouns
singular plural
subject object subject object
1st person man ma nun nu
2nd person yow la yeen leen
3rd person moom ko ñoom leen

Yola

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Noun

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man (genitive mannes)

  1. man
  2. husband
    Coordinate term: mawen
    • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 13, page 90:
      He at nouth fade t'zey, llean vetch ee man,
      He that knows what to say, mischief fetch the man,
    • 1867, “THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 6, page 96:
      Zoo wough kisth, an wough parthet; earch man took his laave;
      So we kissed and we parted, each man took his leave;
    • 1867, “CASTEALE CUDDE'S LAMENTATION”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 4, page 104:
      Zimaan Haay is a wicked man,
      Simon Hay is a wicked man,

Derived terms

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References

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  • 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

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Etymology

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

Noun

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man m (plural mannen)

  1. man
  2. husband
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