Where does “womanhood” come from?
Womanhood derives from Middle English womanhoode and wommanhede, from the Old English suffix -hād (related to Proto-Germanic haiduz and Proto-Indo-European (s)kayt-), meaning state or condition.
womanhood (English): The state or condition of being a woman; All of...
Definitions
- The state or condition of being a woman; All of...
Ancestry of “womanhood”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | womanhoode | — |
| 2 | Middle English | wommanhede | The state of being a woman; womanhood; The female... |
| 3 | Middle English | womman | An female adult person; a woman; The female sex... |
| 4 | Old English | wīfmann | woman; female servant; woman |
| 5 | Old English | mann | person; man meaning mankind; man meaning adult... |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | mann | person, human |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | *mann- | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | men- | to think, mind; spiritual activity; to stay,... |