Where does “womankind” come from?
Womankind comes from Middle English wommankynde, combining woman with Middle English kynde from Old English cynd, Proto-Germanic kundiz, and Proto-Indo-European ǵenh₁-, meaning to beget or produce.
womankind (English): Women, taken collectively
Definitions
- Women, taken collectively
Ancestry of “womankind”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | wommankynde | The female sex in general; womankind |
| 2 | Middle English | kynde | Nature, disposition |
| 3 | Middle English | -nesse | Affixed to adjectives to form abstract nouns... |
| 4 | Old English | -nes | Used to form abstract nouns, usually from... |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -nassī | Used to form abstract nouns, usually from... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -inassuz | -ness |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | -ī | -ness, -th |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | -į̄ | -th |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -íh₂ | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -h₂ | Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups... |