woman

Where does the word "woman" come from? It comes from Old English wīfmann, passing through Middle English before entering English (1500s).

Woman’s story begins in Old English: wīfmann meant “female person.” A compound of 'wīf', woman, and 'mann', person. By 1100s-1400s, the word had taken hold in Middle English as wimman. The 'f' disappeared and the vowel shifted, giving 'wimman' and later 'womman'. It reached English by 1500s as woman. The plural 'women' still keeps the old 'wimmen' pronunciation. Today, woman means an adult female human.

1. Stage 1 · Old English · 700s-1000s wīfmann "female person", a compound of 'wīf', woman, and 'mann', person.
2. Stage 2 · Middle English · 1100s-1400s wimman "woman", the 'f' disappeared and the vowel shifted, giving 'wimman' and later 'womman'.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1500s woman "adult female", the plural 'women' still keeps the old 'wimmen' pronunciation.