- wom|an
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–n.1. a female human being. A woman is a girl grown up.2. women as a group; the average woman; womankind: »
The woman of today rarely has servants. When lovely woman stoops to folly (Oliver Goldsmith).
3. woman's nature; womanliness.4. a female servant or attendant: »The princess told her woman to wait outside.
5. a wife.6. a mistress; paramour.–adj.1. of a woman or women; feminine.2. female (used especially with designations of occupation or profession, and in the plural with a plural noun, now often considered somewhat offensive): »a woman lawyer, women lawyers.
–v.t.1. to supply or staff with women: »a hospital womanned by intelligent nurses.
2. to call (a person) “woman,” especially derogatorily or jocularly: »She was annoyed by his womanning her constantly.
3. Obsolete. a) to cause to act like a woman. b) to unite to or accompany by a woman.╂[Middle English womman, earlier wummon, Old English wimman, alteration of wīfman < wīf woman + man human being]Synonym Study noun. 1 Woman, lady, female mean member of the feminine sex. Woman is the general word for an adult: »a married woman, a woman of high ideals.
Lady applies particularly to a woman of refinement or high social position: »the manners of a lady.
It is sometimes used to refer to any woman (»Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce the next speaker
), often in an inconsistent connotation: »the lady I hire to clean my apartment.
Female applies to a person of any age, baby or child as well as adult. It emphasizes the sex and is largely confined to science and statistics: »The control group consists of 241 males and 246 females.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.
