Where does “kept woman” come from?
kept woman (English) comes from English woman, from Middle English womman, from Old English wīfmann, from Old English mann, from Proto-West Germanic mann, from Proto-Germanic *mann-, from Proto-Indo-European men- — to think, mind; spiritual activity; to stay,...
kept woman (English): A woman who is supported financially by a lover (usually a married man)
Definitions
- A woman who is supported financially by a lover (usually a married man)
Ancestry of “kept woman”, step by step
kept woman traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English woman
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | woman | An adult female human; All female humans... |
| 2 | Middle English | womman | An female adult person; a woman; The female sex... |
| 3 | Old English | wīfmann | woman; female servant; woman |
| 4 | Old English | mann | person; man meaning mankind; man meaning adult... |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | mann | person, human |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | *mann- | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | men- | to think, mind; spiritual activity; to stay,... |
via English kept
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | kept | simple past tense and past participle of keep |