man
An adult male human being; also historically, a human being of either sex.
Etymology
From Old English mann (human being, person), from Proto-Germanic *mann-. The PIE origin is uncertain — some reconstruct *man- (man, person), others connect it to *men- (to think), suggesting 'the thinker.' The gender-neutral sense ('any person') was the older meaning in Old English; the specifically male sense developed later.
The Journey: *man- → man
*man- (uncertain)
*mann-
mann
man
Cognates Across Languages
These words in other languages descend from the same PIE root *man-. They are not borrowings but independent inheritances from a common ancestor.
| Language | Word |
|---|---|
| Dutch | man — man |
| German | Mann — man |
| Gothic | manna — man, person |
| Swedish | man — man |
| Sanskrit | mánu- — man, mankind (possibly related) |
Did You Know?
In Old English, mann meant any person regardless of sex. A male was specifically wer (surviving in werewolf) and a female was wīf. The specifically male meaning of man gradually overtook the gender-neutral one during the Middle English period.