SOURCE 01supportshistorical dictionary
Woman — American Heritage Dictionary
Independently gives the non-male-specific component sense.
Etymology: man, person- AUTHOR / EDITOR
- American Heritage Dictionary Editors
- YEAR
- 2022
- PUBLISHER
- HarperCollins
PERMANENT DISPUTE RECORD
ALL DISPUTES ↗CLAIM / COUNTERCLAIM / LIMITRECORD 263
DISPUTE
RECORD.
One scholarly question. Every attached source. The present editorial state, without pretending the last word has been written.
resolvedestablished
Did man inside wīfman already mean only an adult male?
No. In this compound man carries its older human-being or person sense.
WORD UNDER REVIEWDISPUTE 263
woman
/ˈwʊmən/ · noun
An adult female human being; historically a compound of Old English wīf, woman, and mann, human being or person.
01
DIRECT CLAIM EVIDENCE
2 SOURCES WITH A STANCE
A citation is not a vote. Each record says whether the work supports, challenges, contradicts, or contextualizes the position—and identifies the exact locus used.
SOURCE 02supportshistorical dictionary
Woman — Definition, Word History, and First Known Use
Gives the historical sense inside the compound.
Etymology: man, human being- AUTHOR / EDITOR
- Merriam-Webster Editors
- YEAR
- 2026
- PUBLISHER
- Merriam-Webster
02 / EDITORIAL STATE
THE CURRENT RECORD IS RESOLVED.
- CONFIDENCE
- established
- STATUS
- resolved
- LEGACY SOURCE SUMMARY
- Both reviewed dictionaries gloss the second component as human being or person.
The woman and man dossiers share the exact Old English human-person node.