man
//ˈmæn//
Forms
- Plural
- men
Definitions
1.An adult male human.
- The show is especially popular with middle-aged men.
- Unsurprisingly, if modern man is a sort of camera, modern woman is a picture.
- When President Roosevelt goes walking in the country about Washington he is always accompanied by two Secret Service men.
2.A member of the genus Homo, especially of the species Homo sapiens.
- The evidence suggests that close relatives of early man, in lineages that later became extinct, also were able to use tools.
3.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.
- There was a pair of burly dwarves – a woman and a man – bearing the markings of the formidable Thane Guards.
- 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.
4.A husband.
- I pronounce that they are man and wife.
- In the next place, every wife ought to answer for her man.
1.Used to refer to oneself or one's group: I, we; construed in the third person.(slang)
- Blood I swear she just gave man extra chicken? Two fat pieces of chicken.
- Man's got some new creps.
2.You; construed in the third person.(slang)
- Man thinks I was born yesterday.
- 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.
3.Any person, one(slang)
- He was of all colours Þat man may se of flours Be-twene Mydsomer and May.
1.Used to place emphasis upon something or someone; sometimes, but not always, when actually addressing a man.
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:man.
- Man, that was a great catch!
Frequency
Overall
Very common· #95
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Very common
- General reading & writing
- Very common
- Academic
- Uncommon
- Literature
- Common
Related words
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