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.
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, nounWords nearby man
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, adjectiveWord 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