different between woman vs masseuse

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

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French masseuse, feminine of masseur.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ma?s??z/
• (US) IPA^(key): /m??su?s/, /m??s?z/

Noun

masseuse (plural masseuses, masculine masseur)

1. A woman who performs massage; a female masseur.
   • Friends (TV series, episode 3.05)

     Oh! I'm a masseuse. I give people massages and stuff.

2. (nonstandard) A masseur; a man who performs massage.
   • 2003, Helena B. Rich., L. C. S. W. Helena B. Rich, The Art of Masturdating: A Guidebook for Single Heterosexuals, iUniverse ?ISBN, page 103

     He was a great masseuse.

   • 2012, Penny Dixon, Betrayed, Troubador Publishing Ltd ?ISBN, page 57

     He was a good masseuse, and could always make Jez relax.

   • 1998, Bad Subjects Production Team, Bad Subjects: Political Education for Everyday Life, NYU Press ?ISBN

     Waited, got up, opened the door and saw the masseuse playing backgammon. Told him I was ready, didn't know what for. He waved me away, and I returned to the slab. By the time he came in, a mustached masseuse was sponging down a German woman on the opposite side of the marble; her husband sat on the perimeter watching (this was not a traditional hamam).

   • year unknown, Jamie Lake, BOOK 4 - Bad Boy: Naughty at Night: Bad Boy | Gay Romance MM Boyfriend Series, Jamie Lake

     Just less than a week ago, he'd said he'd tell Peter's parents, his school, the press, that Peter was an erotic masseuse.

   • 2011, Mark D West, Lovesick Japan: Sex Marriage, Romance, Law - p.152

     In most massages, both the male masseuse and the female client are naked and the focus is on erogenous zones.

Synonyms

• Thesaurus:massotherapist

Hypernyms

• massager

Coordinate terms

• masseur

Related terms

• massage
• masseur

Translations

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French masseuse, equivalent to masseren +? -euse.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?m??sø?.z?/
• Hyphenation: mas?seu?se
• Rhymes: -ø?z?

Noun

masseuse f (plural masseuses, masculine masseur)

1. masseuse

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma.søz/

Noun

masseuse f (plural masseuses)

1. female equivalent of masseur (“masseuse”)

Descendants

• ? Danish: massøse
• ? Dutch: masseuse
• ? English: masseuse

Further reading

• “masseuse” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).