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Man

3 stages from Proto-Germanic to English.

Today it means an adult male human; a person

Where does the word "man" come from? It comes from Proto-Germanic mann-, passing through Old English before entering English (1500s).

mann-→mann→man

Proto-Germanic · ancient

found across Germanic, perhaps related to 'mind'

Old English · 700s-1000s

meant a person of either sex; a male was 'wer', as in 'werewolf', and a female 'wīf'

English · 1500s

'wer' died out, leaving 'man' to mean an adult male, though 'mankind' keeps the old sense

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Man’s story begins in Proto-Germanic: mann- meant “person.” Found across Germanic, perhaps related to 'mind'. By 700s-1000s, the word had taken hold in Old English as mann. Meant a person of either sex; a male was 'wer', as in 'werewolf', and a female 'wīf'. It reached English by 1500s as man. 'wer' died out, leaving 'man' to mean an adult male, though 'mankind' keeps the old sense. Today, man means an adult male human; a person.