woman

Origin

From Middle English womman, from earlier wimman, wifman, from Old English wīfmann (“woman”, literally “female person”), a compound of wīf (“woman, female”, whence English wife) + mann (“person, human being”, whence English man). For details on the pronunciation and spelling history, see the usage notes below. Cognate with Scots woman, weman (“woman”), Saterland Frisian Wieuwmoanske (“female person, female human, woman”). Similar construction can be found in West Frisian frommes (“woman, girl”) (from frou and minske, literally "woman human") and Afrikaans vroumens (“woman”, literally “woman-person”).