Woman \Wom"an\, n.; pl. Women. [OE. woman, womman, wumman,
wimman, wifmon, AS. w[=i]fmann, w[=i]mmann; w[=i]f woman,
wife + mann a man. See Wife, and Man.]
1. An adult female person; a grown-up female person, as
distinguished from a man or a child; sometimes, any female
person.
Women are soft, mild pitiful, and flexible. --Shak.
And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man,
made he a woman. --Gen. ii. 22.
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.
2. The female part of the human race; womankind.
Man is destined to be a prey to woman. --Thackeray.
3. A female attendant or servant. `` By her woman I sent your
message.'' --Shak.
Woman hater, one who hates women; one who has an aversion
to the female sex; a misogynist. --Swift.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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