Where does “women” come from?
Woman derives from Middle English woman, from Middle English wifman, from Old English mann, from Proto-Germanic mann-, from Proto-Indo-European men-.
women (English): plural of woman; Misspelling of woman
Definitions
- plural of woman; Misspelling of woman
Ancestry of “women”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | wimmen | — |
| 2 | Old English | wīfmenn | women |
| 3 | Old English | wīf | wife; woman, female, lady, wife; female |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | wīb | woman; wife |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | wībą | woman; wife |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | gʰwíh₂bʰ- | shame, pudenda |
Words derived from “women”