Middle English womman develops to modern woman with reduction of the unstressed final syllable and modern spelling.
CANONICAL RELATIONSHIP RECORD
COVERAGE LEDGER ↗EDGE / 0804continuationestablished
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woman
adult female human being
OPEN NODE 797 ↗DESCENDS FROM→
PARENT / EARLIER FORM / attestedMiddle English · Middle English · woman nounwomman
woman
OPEN NODE 798 ↗01
THE COMPLETE RELATIONSHIP
EVERY FIELD, NOT A FAIRY TALE
The female-person compound remains the ordinary adult-female noun.
Recorded before the twelfth century in English.
Merriam-Webster Editors · American Heritage Dictionary Editors
established — no additional confidence note is attached.
reviewed
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CITATION REGISTER
SOURCES ON THIS EDGE
Woman — Definition, Word History, and First Known UseEtymology and First Known Use
supportsAUDIT SOURCE ↗ORIGINAL ↗Publishes Middle English womman, Old English wīfman, and the pre-twelfth-century horizon.
Woman — American Heritage DictionaryHeadword and etymology
contextAUDIT SOURCE ↗ORIGINAL ↗Independently publishes the wimman and wīfman history.
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EDITORIAL REUSE