unman
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From un- (“de-, dis-, away”) + man (“male person”). Compare Dutch ontmannen, German entmannen, both “to unman, emasculate, castrate”.
PronunciationEdit
- (General American) IPA(key): /ʌnˈmæn/
- Rhymes: -æn
VerbEdit
unman (third-person singular simple present unmans, present participle unmanning, simple past and past participle unmanned)
- (transitive, archaic) To castrate; to remove the manhood of.
- 1906, James George Frazer, Attis, Otis, Osiris, volume 1, page 264:
- He unmanned himself under a pine-tree and bled to death on the spot.
- Synonym: emasculate
- (transitive, figurative) To sap (a person) of the strength, whether physical or emotional, required to deal with a situation.
- Synonym: emasculate
- 1855, William Delafield Arnold, Oakfield: Or, Fellowship in the East, page 280:
- I hope to God his theories will not unman him in action, that he will not be musing and refining when he should be leading the Jacks […]
- 1919, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter 5, in A Damsel in Distress:
- He dressed moodily, and left the room to go down to breakfast. Breakfast would at least alleviate this sinking feeling which was unmanning him.
- (transitive) To deprive of men.
AnagramsEdit
WelshEdit
EtymologyEdit
PronunciationEdit
- (North Wales) IPA(key): /ˈɨ̞nman/
- (South Wales) IPA(key): /ˈɪnman/
- Rhymes: -ɨ̞nman
NounEdit
unman m (uncountable)
Further readingEdit
- R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “unman”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies