Idioms for man

Origin of man

1
before 900; (noun) Middle English; Old English man(n); cognate with German Mann, Dutch man, Old Norse mathr, Gothic manna; (v.) Middle English mannen, Old English mannian to garrison

SYNONYMS FOR man

Man, male, gentleman are nouns referring to adult human beings who are biologically male; that is, physiologically equipped to initiate conception but not to bear children. Man is the most general and most commonly used of the three; it can be neutral, lacking either favorable or unfavorable implication: a wealthy man; a man of strong character, of unbridled appetites. It can also signify possession of the most typical or desirable masculine qualities: to take one's punishment like a man. Male emphasizes the physical or sexual characteristics of a man; it may also refer to an animal or plant: a male in his prime; two males and three females in the pack; a male of the genus Ilex. In scientific and statistical use, male is the neutral contrastive term to female : 104 females to every 100 males; Among birds, the male is often more colorful than the female. Gentleman, once used only of men of high social rank, now also specifies a man of courtesy and consideration: a real gentleman; to behave like a gentleman. Gentleman is also used as a polite term of reference ( This gentleman is waiting for a table ) or, only in the plural, of address ( Are we ready to begin, gentlemen? ). See also manly, male.

usage note for man

The use of man1 to mean “human being,” both alone and in compounds such as mankind, has met with objection in recent years, and the use is declining. The objection is based on the idea that man is most commonly used as an exclusive, sex-marked noun meaning “male human being.” Critics of the use of man as a generic maintain that it is sometimes ambiguous when the wider sense is intended ( Man has built magnificent civilizations in the desert ), but more often flatly discriminatory in that it slights or ignores the membership of women in the human race: The man in the street wants peace, not war.
Although some editors and writers reject or disregard these objections to man as a generic, many now choose instead to use such terms as human being ( s ), human race, humankind, people, or, when called for by style or context, women and men or men and women. See also -man, -person, -woman.

OTHER WORDS FROM man

man·less, adjective man·less·ly, adverb man·less·ness, noun man·ness, noun

British Dictionary definitions for to a man (1 of 3)

man
/ (mæn) /

noun plural men (mɛn)

interjection

informal an exclamation or expletive, often indicating surprise or pleasure

verb mans, manning or manned (tr)

Derived forms of man

manless, adjective

Word Origin for man

Old English mann; related to Old Frisian man, Old High German man, Dutch man, Icelandic mathr

usage for man

The use of man to mean human beings in general is often considered sexist. Gender-neutral alternatives include human beings, people and humankind . The verb to man can also often be replaced by to staff, to operate and related words

British Dictionary definitions for to a man (2 of 3)

Man 1
/ (mæn) /

noun the Man (sometimes not capital) US

Black slang a White man or White men collectively, esp when in authority, in the police, or held in contempt
slang a drug peddler

British Dictionary definitions for to a man (3 of 3)

Man 2
/ (mæn) /

noun

Isle of Man an island in the British Isles, in the Irish Sea between Cumbria and Northern Ireland: a UK Crown Dependency (but not part of the United Kingdom), with its own ancient parliament, the Court of Tynwald; a dependency of Norway until 1266, when for a time it came under Scottish rule; its own language, Manx, became extinct in the 19th century but has been revived to some extent. Capital: Douglas. Pop: 86 159 (2013 est). Area: 588 sq km (227 sq miles)

Idioms and Phrases with to a man (1 of 2)

to a man

Unanimously, without exception, as in The committee voted against the proposal to a man. This expression, first recorded in 1712, uses man in the sense of “everyone.” It continues to be so used despite its sexist tone. To a woman is very occasionally used for unanimous actions in groups that include only women. Also see as one; with one voice.

Idioms and Phrases with to a man (2 of 2)

man