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Added 7 October 2026

man

/ˈmæn/ noun

In Latin: vir, mās Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about man at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

An adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman).
there were two women and six men on the bus
Someone who serves in the armed forces; a member of a military force.
two men stood sentry duty
The generic use of the word to refer to any human being.
it was every man for himself

verb

Take charge of a certain job; occupy a certain work place.
Mr. Smith manned the reception desk in the morning
Provide with workers.
We cannot man all the desks

Origin

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 This word has many cognates, in every Germanic language (whether extant or extinct), with similarities in form and meaning. Virtually all the words below mean “man” and “husband”, with some specific cases noted.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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