different between person vs woman

English

Etymology

From Middle English persoun, personne et al., from Anglo-Norman parsone, persoun et al. (Old French persone (“human being”), French personne), and its source Latin pers?na (“mask used by actor; role, part, character”), perhaps a loanword from Etruscan ???????????????????? (?ersu, “mask”). Displaced native wight (from Old English wiht (“person, human being”)). Doublet of parson and persona.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?p??s?n/, [?p???sn?]
• (General American) enPR: pûr?sn, pûr?s?n, IPA^(key): /?p?s?n/, [?p??sn?]
• Rhymes: -??(?)s?n
• Hyphenation: per?son

Noun

person (plural persons or (by suppletion) people)

1. An individual; usually a human being. [from 13th c.]
   • 1784, William Jones, The Description and Use of a New Portable Orrery, &c., PREFACE

     THE favourable reception the Orrery has met with from Per?ons of the fir?t di?tinction, and from Gentlemen and Ladies in general, has induced me to add to it ?everal new improvements in order to give it a degree of Perfection; and di?tingui?h it from others; which by Piracy, or Imitation, may be introduced to the Public.
   1. A character or part, as in a play; a specific kind or manifestation of individual character, whether in real life, or in literary or dramatic representation; an assumed character.

      • his first appearance upon the stage in his new person of a sycophant or juggler

      • 1673, Jeremy Taylor, Heniaytos: A Course of Sermons for All the Sundays of the Year […]

        No man can long put on a person and act a part.

      • 1664, Robert South, Of the Love of Christ to his Disciples

        How different […] is the same man from himself, as he sustains the person of a magistrate, and […] that of a friend!

   2. (Christianity) Any one of the three hypostases of the Holy Trinity: the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit.
      • 1892, Book of Common Prayer, The Litanie

        three persons and one God

   3. (chiefly in science fiction) Any sentient or socially intelligent being.
   4. (in a compound noun or noun phrase) Someone who likes or has an affinity for (a specified thing). [from 20th c.]

2. The physical body of a being seen as distinct from the mind, character, etc. [from 14th c.]
   • 1897, Henry James, What Maisie Knew:

     The Captain, inclining his military person, sat sideways to be closer and kinder […].

   • 1978, Lawrence Durrell, Livia, Faber & Faber 1992 (Avignon Quintet), page 418:

     At first blush it seemed that what was striking about him rested on the fact that his dress was exotic, his person foreign.

   • 2004, The New York Times:

     Meanwhile, the dazed Sullivan, dressed like a bum with no identification on his person, is arrested and put to work on a brutal Southern chain gang.

3. (law) Any individual or formal organization with standing before the courts. [from 14th c.]

4. (law) The human genitalia; specifically, the penis.
   • 1824, Vagrancy Act 1824 (5 Geo. 4. c. 83, United Kingdom), section 4:

     [E]very Person wilfully, openly, lewdly, and obscenely exposing his Person in any Street, Road, or public Highway, or in the View thereof, or in any Place of public Resort, with Intent to insult any Female ... and being subsequently convicted of the Offence for which he or she shall have been so apprehended, shall be deemed a Rogue and Vagabond, within the true Intent and Meaning of this Act ...

   • 1972, Evans v. Ewels, Weekly Law Reports, vol. 1, page 671 at pp. 674–675:

     It seems to me that at any rate today, and indeed by 1824, the word "person" in connection with sexual matters had acquired a meaning of its own; a meaning which made it a synonym for "penis." It may be ... that it was the forerunner of Victorian gentility which prevented people calling a penis a penis. But however that may be I am satisfied in my own mind that it has now acquired an established meaning to the effect already stated. It is I venture to say, well known amongst those who practise in the courts that the word "person" is so used over and over again. It is the familiar synonym of that part of the body, and, as one of the reasons for my decision in this case, I would use that interpretation of what was prevailing in 1824 and what has become established in the 150 years since then.

5. (grammar) A linguistic category used to distinguish between the speaker of an utterance and those to whom or about whom they are speaking. See grammatical person. [from 14th c.]
6. (biology) A shoot or bud of a plant; a polyp or zooid of the compound Hydrozoa, Anthozoa, etc.; also, an individual, in the narrowest sense, among the higher animals.
   • 1884, Patrick Geddes, "Morphology", in Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 16

     True corms, composed of united personae […] usually arise by gemmation, […] yet in sponges and corals occasionally by fusion of several originally distinct persons.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Haeckel to this entry?)

Usage notes

• In senses 1.1, 1.3, and 1.4, the plural is most commonly people, with persons occasionally used in formal speech or writing. Some native speakers will find persons inappropriate, even in formal usage. In senses 1.2, 2, 3, and 5 persons is the only plural.
• Referring to an individual as a “person” (rather than a gentleman, lady, etc.) was formerly perceived as a slight.
• Today, all major style guides recommend people rather than persons. For example, the Associated Press and the New York Times recommend "people" except in quotations and set phrases. Under the traditional distinction, which Garner says is pedantic, persons describes a finite, known number of individuals, rather than the collective term people. "Persons" is correct in technical and legal contexts.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:person

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

person (third-person singular simple present persons, present participle personing, simple past and past participle personed)

1. (obsolete, transitive) To represent as a person; to personify; to impersonate.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Milton to this entry?)

2. (transitive, gender-neutral) To man.

Anagrams

• Posner, nopers, preons, prones, spreon

Breton

Noun

person m (plural personed)

1. vicar

Inflection

Danish

Etymology

From Latin persona

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -o??n

Noun

person c (singular definite personen, plural indefinite personer)

1. person
2. character
3. figure
4. people

Inflection

References

• “person” in Den Danske Ordbog

Esperanto

Noun

person

1. accusative singular of perso

Finnish

Adjective

person

1. genitive singular of perso

Indonesian

Etymology

From Dutch persoon, from Middle Dutch persone, ultimately from Latin pers?na.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [p?r?s?n]
• Hyphenation: pêr?son

Noun

person (first-person possessive personku, second-person possessive personmu, third-person possessive personnya)

1. person, individual

   Synonyms: perseorangan, pribadi

Related terms

Further reading

• “person” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (KBBI) Daring, Jakarta: Badan Pengembangan dan Pembinaan Bahasa, Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia, 2016.

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Latin persona.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pær.su?n/, [pæ.??u?n] (Standard Eastern Norwegian)

Noun

person m (definite singular personen, indefinite plural personer, definite plural personene)

1. a person

Derived terms

References

• “person” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Latin persona.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pær.su?n/, [pæ.??u?n]

Noun

person m (definite singular personen, indefinite plural personar, definite plural personane)

1. a person

Derived terms

References

• “person” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Scots

Noun

person (plural people)

1. (law) An individual with rights and responsibilities under the law.
2. (law) An individual or formal organisation with standing before the courts.
3. In fiction, any sentient or socially intelligent being.

Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p?r?su?n/, [p???u?n]

Noun

person c

1. a human being
2. an individual

Declension

Related terms

References

• person in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)

Anagrams

• porens, porsen, ropens

Welsh

Etymology

Ultimately from Latin pers?na (“mask used by actor; role, part, character”). Probably through English and Old French persone (“human being”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?p?rs?n/

Noun

person m (plural personau)

1. person

   Synonym: unigolyn

Derived terms

• personol

Noun

person m (plural personiaid)

1. parson
2. clergyman

   Synonym: clerigwr, offeiriad

Mutation

English

Etymology

From Middle English woman, from earlier wimman, wifman. The Middle English forms are from Old English wiman, wimman, from w?fmann m (“woman; female servant”, literally “female person”), a compound of w?f (“woman”, whence English wife) +? mann (“person”, whence English man). For details on the pronunciation and spelling history, see the usage notes below.

Cognate with Scots woman, weman. Compare Saterland Frisian Wieuwmoanske (“female person; female human”). Similar constructions can be found in West Frisian frommes (“woman, girl”) (from frou and minske, literally "woman human").

A few alternative spellings (see below) respell the term so as not to contain man.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA^(key): /?w?m?n/
• (General New Zealand) IPA^(key): /?w?m?n/
• Hyphenation: wom?an
• Rhymes: -?m?n
• Homophone: women (some dialects, common in New Zealand and South Africa)

Noun

woman (plural women)

1. An adult female human.
   • 2012, Kate Welsh, Substitute Daddy (?ISBN):

     "There is nothing wrong with Melissa or the way she was raised. She is a sweet, kind, intelligent woman with a generous heart and more love for her child than you and Mother ever showed for either of your children."

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:woman.
2. (collective) All female humans collectively; womankind.
   • 1972, Helen Reddy, "I Am Woman," first line:

     I am Woman, hear me roar / In numbers too big to ignore

   • 1997, Bob Grant, Let's Be Heard, page 42:

     For if modern woman is so intent on keeping her surname alive, why not demand it be passed along to her children?

   • 2011, Eileen Gray and the Design of Sapphic Modernity: Staying In, page 109:

     Unsurprisingly, if modern man is a sort of camera, modern woman is a picture.

3. A female person, usually an adult; a (generally adult) female sentient being, whether human, supernatural, elf, alien, etc.
   • 2003, Amelia Jones, The Feminism and Visual Culture Reader, Psychology Press (?ISBN), page 37:

     To be born a woman has been to be born, within an allotted and confined space, into the keeping of men.

   • 2007, Clifford B. Bowyer, The Siege of Zoldex, Silver Leaf Books, LLC (?ISBN), page 307:

     One of the elves, a woman with long auburn hair, was garbed identically to the two dwarves.

   • 2008, Christopher Paolini, Brisingr: Or The Seven Promises of Eragon Shadeslayer and Saphira Bjartskular - Inheritance Book Three (?ISBN), page 549:

     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— […]

   • 2014, Oisin McGann, Kings of the Realm: Cruel Salvation, Penguin UK (?ISBN):

     There was a pair of burly dwarves – a woman and a man – bearing the markings of the formidable Thane Guards.

4. A wife (or sometimes a fiancée or girlfriend).
   • 1914, D. H. Lawrence, Study of Thomas Hardy and Other Essays, chapter 7: "Of Being and Not-Being":

     And then, when he lies with his woman, the man may concurrently be with God, and so get increase of his soul.

5. A female person who is extremely fond of or devoted to a specified type of thing. (Used as the last element of a compound.)
   • 2004, Hyveth Williams, Secrets of a Happy Heart: A Fresh Look at the Sermon on the Mount, page 70:

     Perhaps my problem is that I am a cat woman. I can't imagine any finicky feline (and they all are that at one time or another) slobbering over anyone, even a beloved owner, the way a dog does.

6. A female attendant or servant.
   • c. 1564–1616, William Shakespeare:

     By her woman I sent your message.

Usage notes

The current pronunciation of the first vowel of the singular began to appear in western England in the 13th century under the rounding influence of the w, though the older pronunciation with /i/ (? modern /?/) remained in use into the 15th century. Although the vowel of the plural was sometimes also altered to /u/ (? modern /?/) beginning in the 14th century, the pronunciation with /?/ ultimately won out there, possibly under the influence of pairs like foot-feet. However, many speakers (especially of New Zealand English or South African English) have either retained or reinnovated the pronunciation of the plural with /?/. The modern spelling women for the plural is due to influence of the singular; it is attested from the 15th century.

For a time in the 16th and 17th centuries, the pronunciation of the singular sometimes drifted even further back towards /u?/ or /??~o?/ (? modern /o?~??/) and the plural sometimes drifted even further forward towards /i?/, leading to comparisons of the words to "woe man" or "we men".)

Alternative forms

• (feminist spellings; very rare:) (singular:) womxn, womyn, (plural:) womxn, womyn, wymyn
• (eye dialect, sometimes also used as feminist spellings:) (singular:) womin, wommon (also obsolete), womon (plural:) wimin, wimmin, wimmen, wymmyn
• (obsolete, 17th c.) weoman
• (obsolete) whoman
• (plural, informal or obsolete) wimen
• (plural, nonstandard, proscribed) womans
• (plural, nonstandard, African-American Vernacular) womens

Synonyms

• lady; female; see more at Thesaurus:woman

Hypernyms

• man (broad sense), human

Hyponyms

Coordinate terms

• (gender): man
• (age): girl

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

• Antigua and Barbuda Creole English: uman
• Aukan: uman
• Krio: uman
• Sranan Tongo: uma; oema (superseded)
• Torres Strait Creole: oman
• ? Japanese: ???? (?man)
• ? Korean: ?? (umeon)
• ? Volapük: vom

Translations

See woman/translations § Noun.

References

• woman on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Woman (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Verb

woman (third-person singular simple present womans, present participle womaning, simple past and past participle womaned)

1. To staff with female labor.
   • 2010, Julia Glass, The Widower's Tale, page 77

     The information desk is now manned (womaned) by someone whose main job is to help you reserve time slots for the computers or guide you through the arduous process of “logging on.”

2. (transitive) To make effeminate or womanish.
   • 1598, William Shakespeare, All's Well That Ends Well, III. ii. 50:

     I have felt so many quirks of joy and grief / That the first face of neither on the start / Can woman me unto't.

3. (transitive) To furnish with, or unite to, a woman.
   • 1603, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice, III. iv. 191:

     And think it no addition, nor my wish, / To have him see me woman'd.

4. (transitive) To call (a person) "woman" in a disrespectful fashion.

See also

References

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?voman]

Noun

woman m

1. obsolete form of oman (“elecampane”), obsolete spelling of voman (“elecampane”)

Declension

Middle English

Noun

woman (plural women)

1. Alternative form of womman

Upper Sorbian

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *oman?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?u?oman]

Noun

woman m

1. inula, elecampane (Inula spp., especially Inula helenium)

Declension