I am 😕 (confused).
- Thread starter Ina
- Start date
Qu'en est-il de la langue française ? Nous avons un homme et une femme. Je veux dire, fe-mme ? Pourquoi pas juste fe ?
De l'aide ?
I can't see that helping much, sorry
De l'aide ?
I can't see that helping much, sorry
Ina
The Living Force
I wished I could have put two reactions because your post was sublimely funny and totally on point. Think about the Norman Conquest.
Wandering Star
The Living Force
Two guys in ancient times see the first woman and one says to the other "Woo Man!".
And that's it.
And that's it.
meadow_wind
Jedi Council Member
I'm curious now, so I asked ChatGPT's intake on this:The words "man" and "woman" in English have an interesting linguistic history, rooted in Old English and older Germanic languages. Here's how these words evolved:
The Word "Man"
In Old English, "man" (or mann) originally meant "human being" in a general, gender-neutral sense, not specifically a male person. It was used to describe any person, regardless of gender. The word for a male person specifically was actually "wēr" (from which we get "werewolf," meaning "man-wolf").Over time, wēr fell out of use, and "man" came to be associated more strongly with males. By the Middle English period, "man" had shifted toward referring specifically to a male, though it was still sometimes used to mean "person" in a general sense.
The Prefix "Wo-" in "Woman"
The word "woman" derives from Old English "wīfmann", where:- "wīf" (related to the modern word "wife") meant "woman" or "female."
- "mann" meant "person" or "human being."
Why Not Just "Wo"?
Since "woman" comes from wīfmann, the "man" part wasn't intended to signify a male person. Instead, it was simply a way to indicate "female human." The prefix “wo-” alone wouldn’t make sense because "wīfmann" was needed to create a specific meaning ("female person") distinct from "man" as a general term for all people.So, in short, "woman" wasn’t derived from "man" in the sense of a "subordinate" term but was a compound word meaning "female person." Over time, though, the meanings and connotations have evolved to what we recognize in modern English.
