this post was submitted on 10 Mar 2024
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One of the comments reads : Actually, we will probably never figure out, was it man or woman. but I thought this comment of the professor was an interesting eye opener. https://mastodonapp.uk/@MarkHoltom/112070436760917344

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[โ€“] jackpot@lemmy.ml 11 points 6 months ago (1 children)

etymologically speaking im not even sure if thats right. i heard somethibg like this and they either said woman doesnt derive from man or that man used to mean woman and man but woman became its own thing, cant recall

[โ€“] John_McMurray@lemmy.world 3 points 6 months ago

"man" in the contexts not directly related to being a male, means human. "Man" used to have a prefix vaguely pronounced "were" and "woman" used to be "wifman". Female werewolf would be a "wifwolf" then. So anyways, "Man" never changed it's meaning, it really just gained an additional one, and yet again, whiners need to read a book.