from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Woman \Wom"an\, n.; pl. {Women}. [OE. woman, womman, wumman,
wimman, wifmon, AS. w[imac]fmann, w[imac]mmann; w[imac]f
woman, wife + mann a man. See {Wife}, and {Man}.]
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1. An adult female person; a grown-up female person, as
distinguished from a man or a child; sometimes, any female
person.
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Women are soft, mild pitiful, and flexible. --Shak.
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And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man,
made he a woman. --Gen. ii. 22.
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I have observed among all nations that the women
ornament themselves more than the men; that,
wherever found, they are the same kind, civil,
obliging, humane, tender beings, inclined to be gay
and cheerful, timorous and modest. --J. Ledyard.
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2. The female part of the human race; womankind.
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Man is destined to be a prey to woman. --Thackeray.
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3. A female attendant or servant. " By her woman I sent your
message." --Shak.
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{Woman hater}, one who hates women; one who has an aversion
to the female sex; a misogynist. --Swift.
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