wifmann

Old English

Alternative forms

• wīfman, wīfmonn, wīfmon, wīmmann, wīmman, wīmmonn, wīmmon

Etymology

From wīf +‎ mann, literally “female person”. Compare wǣpnedmann (“man, a male”, literally “male person”), which wīfmann was often used alongside; cf. Icelandic karlmaður and kvenmaður.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwiːfˌmɑnn/, [ˈwiːvˌmɑn]

Noun

wīfmann m

1. woman
   • 10th century, The Descent into Hell:

     Hūru þæs ōþer þing wiston þā wīfmenn, þā hȳ on weġ cyrdon.

     The women, however, knew something else, so they turned back on their way.

2. female
3. handmaid, female servant

Declension

Strong consonant stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	wīfmann	wīfmenn
accusative	wīfmann	wīfmenn
genitive	wīfmannes	wīfmanna
dative	wīfmenn	wīfmannum

Synonyms

• wīf

Derived terms

• bewīfmann

Descendants

• Middle English: womman, wimman, wifmanne
  • Scots: weman, woman
  • English: woman