From Middle English man, from Old English mann m (“human being, person, man”), from Proto-West Germanic *mann, from Proto-Germanic *mann- (“man”), from Proto-Indo-European *mon- (“human being, man”). Doublet of mann and Manu. Cognates This word has many cognates, in every Germanic language (whether extant or extinct), with similarities in form and meaning. Virtually all the words below mean “man” and “husband”, with some specific cases noted. In Ingvaeonic (the languages closest to English): :* Low German Mann :* North Frisian maan, man, moon, muon :* Saterland Frisian Mon :* Scots man :* West Frisian man :* Yola man In the remainder of West Germanic: :* Alemannic German ma, Maa, Mann, mo, mà, Mànn :* Bavarian Mo, mon, moon, Må, mònn :* Cimbrian man, mann, månn :* Dutch, Limburgish, and Zealandic man :* German and Luxembourgish Mann :* Mòcheno mònn :* Vilamovian maon, mon, mōn :* Yiddish מאַן (man) In East Germanic: :* Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌽𐌽𐌰 (manna), which meant “man”, “human“ and “person”, but likely also “husband” In North Germanic: :* Danish mand :* Faroese and Icelandic maður, both additionally meaning “human” and “person”, as in Old Norse :* Gutnish and Swedish man :* Norn, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk mann :* Norwegian Nynorsk mainnj :* Old Norse maðr Outside Germanic: : Indo-Iranian: ::* Avestan 𐬨𐬀𐬥𐬎𐬱 (manuš, “human”) ::* Sanskrit मनुस् (manus, “human”), मनु (manu, “human; humanity; thought”; “thinking; wise; intelligent”) ::* Also Sanskrit म॒नु॒ष्य॑ (manuṣyà, “human; man; huband”, whence English manusya) : Slavic (all of these mean “man” and “husband”, though in some cases the former is no longer part of the modern standard): ::* Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian муж (muž) ::* Bulgarian мъж (mǎž) ::* Czech and Slovak muž ::* Macedonian маж (maž) ::* Polish mąż (“husband”; the meaning “man” is obsolete, akin to English wife) ::* Serbo-Croatian му̑ж, mȗž ::* Slovene mož
The show is especially popular with middle-aged men.
The king is but a man, as I am; the violet smells to him as it doth to me.1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:
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“I want you to know that I hate you, that I think you are a cur, and that I'll never, never speak to you again. Oh, I don't dare to say what I think of you, you — man!”1889, Rudyard Kipling, “A Wayside Comedy”, in Under the Deodars, Boston: The Greenock Press, published 1899, page 75:
“[…]it is not fair of you to bring against mankind double weapons ! Dangerous enough you are as woman alone, without bringing to your aid those gifts of mind suited to problems which men have been accustomed to arrogate to themselves.”1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
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Collective All human males collectively: mankind.
THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.1776 December 19, Thomas Paine, The American Crisis:
Unsurprisingly, if modern man is a sort of camera, modern woman is a picture.2011, Eileen Gray and the Design of Sapphic Modernity: Staying In, page 109:
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An adult male who belongs to a particular group: an employee, a representative, etc.
When President Roosevelt goes walking in the country about Washington he is always accompanied by two Secret Service men.1909, Harper's Weekly, volume 53, page iii:
"And they're very good people, I assure you — he's a Harvard man." It was the first time Milly had met on intimate terms a graduate of a large university.1913, Robert Herrick, One Woman's Life, page 46:
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An adult male who has, to an eminent degree, qualities considered masculine, such as strength, integrity, and devotion to family; a mensch.
He’s more a man than any pair of rats of you in this here house[…]1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, “In The Enemy’s Camp”, in Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC, part VI (Captain Silver), page 234:
I had the opportunity to marry one of them but wasn't mature enough to be a man and marry her and be close to the[…]children and raise them[…].2011, Timothy Shephard, Can We Help Us?: Growing Up Bi-Racial in America, →ISBN, page 181:
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An adult or adolescent male servant. Anyone from a right-hand man (high-ranking assistant) to a low-ranking servant.
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Dated, Formal A human, a person regardless of gender or sex, usually an adult.
every man for himself
[…]a man cannot make him laugh.c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]:
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Recompence to no man euill for euill.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Romans 12:17:
No man is an Iland, intire of it ſelfe; euery man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; […]1624, John Donne, “17. Meditation”, in Deuotions upon Emergent Occasions, and Seuerall Steps in My Sicknes: […], London: […] A[ugustine] M[atthews] for Thomas Iones, →OCLC, pages 415–416:
A man would expect, in so very ancient a town of Italy, to find some considerable antiquities; but all they have to show of this nature is an old Rostrum of a Roman ship, that stands over the door of their arsenal.c. 1700, Joseph Addison, Monaco, Genoa, &c., page 9:
THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.1776 December 19, Thomas Paine, The American Crisis:
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Collective, Dated, Formal All humans collectively; mankind, humankind, humanity.
How did God create man? God created man male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures.1647, Westminster Shorter Catechism, question 10
THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.1776 December 19, Thomas Paine, The American Crisis:
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This consideration must surely tell us that all living things were not made for man. Many of them have no relation to him. The cycle of their existence has gone on independently of his, and is disturbed or broken by every advance in man’s intellectual development; and their happiness and enjoyments, their loves and hates, their struggles for existence, their vigorous life and early death, would seem to be immediately related to their own well-being and perpetuation alone[.]1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, volume II, London: Macmillan and Co., page 224:
Academics who study Aboriginal languages are […] contributing to Man’s search for knowledge, a search that interests most people even if they are not personally involved in it.1991, Barry J. Blake, Australian Aboriginal Languages: A General Introduction, page 75:
Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine. The machine gun is so much more lethal than the bow and arrow that comparisons are meaningless.2013 July 20, “Old soldiers?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
We are striving to forge our union with purpose. To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and conditions of man.2021 January 20, Amanda Gorman, The Hill We Climb:
THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.1776 December 19, Thomas Paine, The American Crisis:
The evidence suggests that close relatives of early man, in lineages that later became extinct, also were able to use tools.1990, The Almanac of Science and Technology, →ISBN, page 68:
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A male person, usually an adult; a (generally adult male) sentient being, whether human, supernatural, elf, alien, etc.
For God is holde a ryghtwys man.c. 1500, “A Gest of Robyn Hode”, in Child Ballads:
God's a good man.1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene v]:
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Expect: But was the devil a proper man, gossip? / As fine a gentleman of his inches as ever I saw trusted to the stage, or any where else.1609 December (first performance), Beniamin Ionson [i.e., Ben Jonson], “Epicoene, or The Silent Woman. A Comœdie. […]”, in The Workes of Beniamin Ionson (First Folio), London: […] Will[iam] Stansby, published 1616, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
Clearing a space between the tables, the men tested their prowess against one another with feats of wrestling and archery and bouts with quarterstaves. Two of the elves, a man and a woman, demonstrated their skill with swordplay—[…]2008, Christopher Paolini, Brisingr: Or The Seven Promises of Eragon Shadeslayer and Saphira Bjartskular - Inheritance Book Three, →ISBN, page 549:
There was a pair of burly dwarves – a woman and a man – bearing the markings of the formidable Thane Guards.2014, Oisin McGann, Kings of the Realm: Cruel Salvation, Penguin UK, →ISBN:
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Obsolete, Uncommon Manliness; the quality or state of being manly.
Methought he bare himself in such a fashion, / So full of man, and sweetness in his carriage, /[…]1598, Beniamin Ionson [i.e., Ben Jonson], “Euery Man in His Humour. A Comœdie. […]”, in The Workes of Beniamin Ionson (First Folio), London: […] Will[iam] Stansby, published 1616, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
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A husband.
I pronounce that they are man and wife.1549 March 7, Thomas Cranmer [et al.], compilers, The Booke of the Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacramentes, […], London: […] Edowardi Whitchurche […], →OCLC:
In the next place, every wife ought to answer for her man.1715, Joseph Addison, The Freeholder:
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A male lover; a boyfriend.
Stay away from my man!
› Used as the last element of a compound.
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A male enthusiast or devotee; a male who is very fond of or devoted to a specified kind of thing.
Some people prefer apple pie, but me, I’m a cherry pie man.
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A person, usually male, who has duties or skills associated with a specified thing.
I wanted to be a guitar man on a road tour, but instead I’m a flag man on a road crew.
15
A person, usually male, who can fulfill one's requirements with regard to a specified matter.
"She's the man for the job."2007, Thriller: Stories to Keep You Up All Night, →ISBN, page 553:
Joanie volunteered, of course — if any dirty job is on offer requiring running, she's your man —2008, Soccer Dad: A Father, a Son, and a Magic Season, →ISBN, page 148:
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He also owns the only backhoe tractor on Elbow Cay, so whenever anyone needs a cistern dug, he's their man.2012, The Island Caper: A Jake Lafferty Action Novel, →ISBN, page 34:
The vassal, or tenant, kneeling, ungirt, uncovered, and holding up his hands between those of his lord, professed that he did become his man from that day forth, of life, limb, and earthly honour.c. 1700s, William Blackstone
No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or otherwise his man would be there with a message to say that his master would shortly join me if I would kindly wait.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 46:
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A piece or token used in board games such as backgammon.
The white men are always put on that side of the board which commences by row I, and the black men are placed opposite.1883, Henry Richter, Chess Simplified!, page 4:
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Video games One of the player's chances to play, lost when the player's character dies or when certain mistakes are made.
Most machines are set to award you an extra man after 8000 points, and then after each additional 14.000 points.1983, William Brohaugh, “Q*Bert: A player's guide”, in Video & Arcade Games, volume 1, number 2, page 31:
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A term of familiar address often implying on the part of the speaker some degree of authority, impatience, or haste.
Come on, man, we've got no time to lose!
Eternal Life is now on my trail / Got my red glitter coffin, man, just need one last nail / While all these ugly gentlemen play out their foolish games / There's a flaming red horizon that screams our names / And as your fantasies are broken in two / Did you really think this bloody road would pave the way for you? / You better turn around and blow your kiss hello to life eternal, angel / Racist everyman, what have you done? / Man, you've made a killer of your unborn son / Crown my fear your king at the point of a gun / All I want to do is love everyone1995, “Eternal Life”, in Grace (Hard Rock), performed by Jeff Buckley, United States:
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A term of familiar address usually reserved for other adult males. It works both with ones whose name is known and ones whose name is unknown.
Near-synonyms: my man, bro, brother
Hey, man, how's it goin'? I haven't seen you in months! [they know each other's name]
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Hey, man, thanks for holding the door! [they don't know each other's name, and it doesn't matter]
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Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports A player on whom another is playing, with the intent of limiting their attacking impact.
2018 Dinny Navaratnam, Andrews will learn from experience: Fagan Brisbane Lions, 30 July 2018. Accessed 6 August 2018. "It was a brutal return to football for Brisbane Lions defender Harris Andrews as his man Tom Hawkins booted seven goals but Lions Coach Chris Fagan said the team's defensive faults, rather than the backman's, allowed the big Cat to dominate."
The second arrived three minutes later and was all Saka's own work, the Arsenal winger turning away from his man on the edge of the area and curling a superb effort beyond the reach of Anatoliy Trubin and into the top corner.2023 March 26, Phil McNulty, “England 2-0 Ukraine”, in BBC Sport:
From Middle English man, from Old English mann m (“human being, person, man”), from Proto-West Germanic *mann, from Proto-Germanic *mann- (“man”), from Proto-Indo-European *mon- (“human being, man”). Doublet of mann and Manu. Cognates This word has many cognates, in every Germanic language (whether extant or extinct), with similarities in form and meaning. Virtually all the words below mean “man” and “husband”, with some specific cases noted. In Ingvaeonic (the languages closest to English): :* Low German Mann :* North Frisian maan, man, moon, muon :* Saterland Frisian Mon :* Scots man :* West Frisian man :* Yola man In the remainder of West Germanic: :* Alemannic German ma, Maa, Mann, mo, mà, Mànn :* Bavarian Mo, mon, moon, Må, mònn :* Cimbrian man, mann, månn :* Dutch, Limburgish, and Zealandic man :* German and Luxembourgish Mann :* Mòcheno mònn :* Vilamovian maon, mon, mōn :* Yiddish מאַן (man) In East Germanic: :* Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌽𐌽𐌰 (manna), which meant “man”, “human“ and “person”, but likely also “husband” In North Germanic: :* Danish mand :* Faroese and Icelandic maður, both additionally meaning “human” and “person”, as in Old Norse :* Gutnish and Swedish man :* Norn, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk mann :* Norwegian Nynorsk mainnj :* Old Norse maðr Outside Germanic: : Indo-Iranian: ::* Avestan 𐬨𐬀𐬥𐬎𐬱 (manuš, “human”) ::* Sanskrit मनुस् (manus, “human”), मनु (manu, “human; humanity; thought”; “thinking; wise; intelligent”) ::* Also Sanskrit म॒नु॒ष्य॑ (manuṣyà, “human; man; huband”, whence English manusya) : Slavic (all of these mean “man” and “husband”, though in some cases the former is no longer part of the modern standard): ::* Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian муж (muž) ::* Bulgarian мъж (mǎž) ::* Czech and Slovak muž ::* Macedonian маж (maž) ::* Polish mąż (“husband”; the meaning “man” is obsolete, akin to English wife) ::* Serbo-Croatian му̑ж, mȗž ::* Slovene mož
1
Used to place emphasis upon something or someone; sometimes, but not always, when actually addressing a man.
Man, that was a great catch!
"What happened to your eye?" she says. "Ice pick, Bayonne, 1985," he says. "Any other questions?" "Sorry, man, I was just asking."2011, Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, Penguin Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 160:
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The 19 meandering minutes of Dark Star are attractive enough but, man, they go on, while poor Creedence Clearwater Revival – headliners, with Bad Moon Rising still in the charts – are watching the clock tick in the wings.2019 August 15, Bob Stanley, “'Groovy, groovy, groovy': listening to Woodstock 50 years on – all 38 discs”, in The Guardian:
For quotations using this term, see Citations:man.
man
pron
Etymology
From Middle English man, from Old English mann m (“human being, person, man”), from Proto-West Germanic *mann, from Proto-Germanic *mann- (“man”), from Proto-Indo-European *mon- (“human being, man”). Doublet of mann and Manu. Cognates This word has many cognates, in every Germanic language (whether extant or extinct), with similarities in form and meaning. Virtually all the words below mean “man” and “husband”, with some specific cases noted. In Ingvaeonic (the languages closest to English): :* Low German Mann :* North Frisian maan, man, moon, muon :* Saterland Frisian Mon :* Scots man :* West Frisian man :* Yola man In the remainder of West Germanic: :* Alemannic German ma, Maa, Mann, mo, mà, Mànn :* Bavarian Mo, mon, moon, Må, mònn :* Cimbrian man, mann, månn :* Dutch, Limburgish, and Zealandic man :* German and Luxembourgish Mann :* Mòcheno mònn :* Vilamovian maon, mon, mōn :* Yiddish מאַן (man) In East Germanic: :* Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌽𐌽𐌰 (manna), which meant “man”, “human“ and “person”, but likely also “husband” In North Germanic: :* Danish mand :* Faroese and Icelandic maður, both additionally meaning “human” and “person”, as in Old Norse :* Gutnish and Swedish man :* Norn, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk mann :* Norwegian Nynorsk mainnj :* Old Norse maðr Outside Germanic: : Indo-Iranian: ::* Avestan 𐬨𐬀𐬥𐬎𐬱 (manuš, “human”) ::* Sanskrit मनुस् (manus, “human”), मनु (manu, “human; humanity; thought”; “thinking; wise; intelligent”) ::* Also Sanskrit म॒नु॒ष्य॑ (manuṣyà, “human; man; huband”, whence English manusya) : Slavic (all of these mean “man” and “husband”, though in some cases the former is no longer part of the modern standard): ::* Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian муж (muž) ::* Bulgarian мъж (mǎž) ::* Czech and Slovak muž ::* Macedonian маж (maž) ::* Polish mąż (“husband”; the meaning “man” is obsolete, akin to English wife) ::* Serbo-Croatian му̑ж, mȗž ::* Slovene mož
[Sully:] If it weren’t for that snake […] Man wouldn’t even be in this mess right now.2011, Top Boy:
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before I got arrested man paid for my own ticket to go Jamaica you know . but I’ve never paid to go on no holiday before this time I paid (Dexter, MLE)2013, Jenny Cheshire, “Grammaticalisation in social context: The emergence of a new English pronoun”, in Journal of Sociolinguistics, volume 17, number 5, page 609:
The girl told me, "take off your jacket" / I said, "Babe, man's not hot" (never hot)2017 September 22, “Man's Not Hot”performed by Big Shaq [Michael Dapaah]:
Blood I swear she just gave man extra chicken? Two fat pieces of chicken.2017, Joseph Barnes Phillips, Big Foot ...and Tiny Little Heartstrings:
Oh, come on. Help a brother out. People see you coppin', might inspire them. Look, I know you ain't payin' bills right now. Man must have bare peas saved up.2023, Nathan Bryon, Tom Melia, directed by Raine Allen-Miller, Rye Lane, spoken by Nathan (Simon Manyonda):
He was of all colours Þat man may se of flours Be-twene Mydsomer and May.c. 1450, Thomas Chestre, Libeaus Desconus:
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I don’t really mind how . how my girl looks if she looks decent yeah and there’s one bit of her face that just looks mashed yeah . I don’t care it’s her personality man’s looking at (Alex, MLE corpus [MLE])2013, Jenny Cheshire, “Grammaticalisation in social context: The emergence of a new English pronoun”, in Journal of Sociolinguistics, volume 17, number 5, page 609:
Etymology From Middle English mannen, from Old English mannian, ġemannian (“to man, supply with men, populate, garrison”), from mann (“human being, man”). Cognates * Dutch bemannen (“to man”) * German bemannen (“to man”) * Danish bemande (“to man”) * Swedish bemanna (“to man”) * Icelandic manna (“to supply with men, to man”)
1
To supply (something) with staff or crew (of either sex).
The ship was manned with a small crew.
In Britain, nearly 2,500 steam locomotives were built, 999 to new designs. Although the latter were modern, they were still labour-intensive to man and maintain, during a period of full employment when working for poor pay in the dirty railway environment was unattractive.2023 March 8, David Clough, “The long road that led to Beeching”, in RAIL, number 978, page 39:
2
To take up position in order to operate (something).
Man the machine guns!
“Avast!” roared Ahab, dashing him against the bulwarks—“Man the boat! Which way heading?”1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 100, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:
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At times it might seem, to a less sympathetic soul than our imagined observer, that this pale blue, egg-shaped two-door sedan, of uncertain age and in mediocre condition, was manned by an idiot.1957 March 7, Vladimir Nabokov, chapter 5.1, in Pnin, Heinemann, page 112:
3
Dated, Possibly To brace (oneself), to fortify or steel (oneself) in a manly way. (Compare man up.)
“To stay open, the senior enlisted leader of U.S. Forces-Afghanistan Forward said he needed people to cover security,” Duncan wrote. “Personnel Recovery Task Force (PRTF) Pilots, maintainers and support personnel donned their vests, helmets and M-4 rifles and manned defensive fighting positions.”2021 October 14, Oren Liebermann, “CENTCOM disputes Air Force account of attempted hijacking at Kabul airport during Afghanistan evacuation”, in CNN:
he manned himself heroically1876, Julian Hawthorne, Saxon Studies: