3 ms·
It is because woman are considered to be the adjunct, not the norm, not the average, not the expected or assumed. Its even obvious in the word itself - a prefix
by ihavedna 13y ago
It is because woman are considered to be the adjunct, not the norm, not the average, not the expected or assumed. Its even obvious in the word itself - a prefix on the word "man", which can and is often used in place of "person" or "human", and will describe a person who is more than likely assumed to be of the masculine persuasion.
A+ on not putting "Woman" in the headline for the article, though!
- Filligree 13y agoAppearances to the contrary, the word "woman" is not actually based off "man", or indeed very related.
- phaemon 13y agoOf course it is. wifman = female human werman = male human man = human "wifman" became "woman" but the "man" is literally from "man" (meaning human). I'm not sure how much more related you can get.
- iopq 13y agoYes, it is. It's wif-man, so a "person who is a wife" as opposed to an unmarried girl. That's why women is pronounced [wimen], because that's the original etymology.