women
/ˈwɪmɪn/
noun
Origin
Old English
wīfmann — female human
Overview
Meaning Now
- plural of woman; adult human females.
Language path
Proto-Germanic → Old English → English
Earliest form
wīfmenn
Earliest period
Old English
Journey
The word is a unique compound in English where the pluralization of the second element (men) became fused with the first element (wīf). In Old English, wīfmann was neuter; its plural was wīfmenn. Due to the phonetic reduction of 'ī' before 'f' and 'm', the spelling stabilized as 'women' while the pronunciation diverged from the singular 'woman'.
Evolution
- Proto-Germanic
wībam + mannan
“female + human being”
- Old English
wīfmann
“female human”
plural wīfmenn
- Middle English
wimmen
“adult female humans”
vowel shortening in the first syllable
- Modern English
women
“plural of woman”
Connections
Word parts
wīf
root
woman, female
men
root
plural of man
Related across languages
Old Frisian
wīfman
woman
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Related to women
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.