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woman

   Also found in: Legal, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.02 sec.
wom·an  (wmn)
n. pl. wom·en (wmn)
1. An adult female human.
2. Women considered as a group; womankind: "Woman feels the invidious distinctions of sex exactly as the black man does those of color" Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
3. An adult female human belonging to a specified occupation, group, nationality, or other category. Often used in combination: an Englishwoman; congresswoman; a saleswoman.
4. Feminine quality or aspect; womanliness.
5. A female servant or subordinate.
6. Informal
a. A wife.
b. A female lover or sweetheart. See Usage Notes at lady, man, person.
Idioms:
(one's) own woman
Independent in judgment or action: She has always been her own woman.
to a woman
Without exception.

[Middle English, from Old English wimman, variant of wfman : wf, woman; see ghwbh- in Indo-European roots + man, person; see man.]

woman·less adj.

woman
Noun
pl women
1. an adult female human being
2. adult female human beings collectively: the very image of woman pared of the trappings of `femininity'
3. an adult female human being with qualities associated with the female, such as tenderness or maternalism: she's more woman than you know
4. a female servant or domestic help
5. Informal a wife or girlfriend
Adjective
female: a woman doctor [Old English wīfmann]
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.womanwoman - an adult female person (as opposed to a man); "the woman kept house while the man hunted"
adult female body, woman's body - the body of an adult woman
adult, grownup - a fully developed person from maturity onward
female person, female - a person who belongs to the sex that can have babies
Black woman - a woman who is Black
white woman - a woman who is White
yellow woman - offensive term for an Asian woman
amazon, virago - a large strong and aggressive woman
maenad - (Greek mythology) a woman participant in the orgiastic rites of Dionysus
bachelor girl, bachelorette - a young unmarried woman who lives alone
baggage - a worthless or immoral woman
ball-breaker, ball-buster - a demanding woman who destroys men's confidence
B-girl, bar girl - a woman employed by a bar to act as a companion to men customers
bas bleu, bluestocking - a woman having literary or intellectual interests
bridesmaid, maid of honor - an unmarried woman who attends the bride at a wedding
broad - slang term for a woman; "a broad is a woman who can throw a mean punch"
cat - a spiteful woman gossip; "what a cat she is!"
Cinderella - a woman whose merits were not been recognized but who then achieves sudden success and recognition
coquette, flirt, minx, prickteaser, vamp, vamper, tease - a seductive woman who uses her sex appeal to exploit men
gentlewoman, ma'am, madam, lady, dame - a woman of refinement; "a chauffeur opened the door of the limousine for the grand lady"
deb, debutante - a young woman making her debut into society
divorcee, grass widow - a divorced woman or a woman who is separated from her husband
ex-wife, ex - a woman who was formerly a particular man's wife; "all his exes live in Texas"
dominatrix - a dominating woman (especially one who plays that role in a sadomasochistic sexual relationship)
donna - an Italian woman of rank
enchantress, femme fatale, temptress, Delilah, siren - a woman who is considered to be dangerously seductive
eyeful - a strikingly beautiful woman; "she was a statuesque redheaded eyeful"
geisha, geisha girl - a Japanese woman trained to entertain men with conversation and singing and dancing
fille, girl, miss, missy, young lady, young woman - a young woman; "a young lady of 18"
girl - a friendly informal reference to a grown woman; "Mrs. Smith was just one of the girls"
lady friend, girlfriend, girl - a girl or young woman with whom a man is romantically involved; "his girlfriend kicked him out"
girlfriend - any female friend; "Mary and her girlfriend organized the party"
gold digger - a woman who associates with or marries a rich man in order to get valuables from him through gifts or a divorce settlement
gravida - a pregnant woman
heroine - a woman possessing heroic qualities or a woman who has performed heroic deeds
inamorata - a woman with whom you are in love or have an intimate relationship
jezebel - a shameless impudent scheming woman
jilt - a woman who jilts a lover
lady - a polite name for any woman; "a nice lady at the library helped me"
maenad - an unnaturally frenzied or distraught woman
materfamilias, matriarch - a female head of a family or tribe
matriarch - a feisty older woman with a big bosom (as drawn in cartoons)
matron - a woman in charge of nursing in a medical institution
mestiza - a woman of mixed racial ancestry (especially mixed European and Native American ancestry)
kept woman, mistress, fancy woman - an adulterous woman; a woman who has an ongoing extramarital sexual relationship with a man
adult male, man - an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman); "there were two women and six men on the bus"
2.woman - a female person who plays a significant role (wife or mistress or girlfriend) in the life of a particular man; "he was faithful to his woman"
colloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech
female person, female - a person who belongs to the sex that can have babies
man - a male person who plays a significant role (husband or lover or boyfriend) in the life of a particular woman; "she takes good care of her man"
3.womanwoman - a human female employed to do housework; "the char will clean the carpet"; "I have a woman who comes in four hours a day while I write"
cleaner - someone whose occupation is cleaning
4.woman - women as a class; "it's an insult to American womanhood"; "woman is the glory of creation"; "the fair sex gathered on the veranda"
social class, socio-economic class, stratum, class - people having the same social, economic, or educational status; "the working class"; "an emerging professional class"
womankind - women as distinguished from men

woman
noun 1. lady, girl, miss, female, bird (slang) dame (slang) ho U.S. (derogatory), (slang) sheila Austral., N.Z. (informal) vrou S. African maiden (archaic) chick (slang) maid (archaic) gal (slang) lass, lassie (informal) wench (facetious) adult female, she, charlie Austral. (slang) chook Austral. (slang) wahine N.Z. << OPPOSITE man
noun 2. (Informal) girlfriend, girl, wife, partner, mate, lover, bride, mistress, spouse, old lady (informal) sweetheart, significant other U.S. (informal) ladylove, wifey (informal)
noun 3. maid, domestic, char (informal) housekeeper, lady-in-waiting, chambermaid, handmaiden, charwoman, maidservant, female servant >> combining forms gyn(o)-, gynaeco-
Translations
Spanish woman [pl women] [ˈwumən, ˈwɪmɪn] nmujer f;
young woman → (mujer f) joven f;
women's page (PRESS) → sección f de la mujer

French woman [women , pl ] [ˈwumən, ˈwɪmɪn] nfemme f
cpd woman doctor → femme f médecin;
woman friend → amie f;
woman teacher → professeur m femme;
young woman → jeune femme;
women's page (Press) → page f des lectrices

German woman [ˈwumən] [women , pl ] nFrau f;
woman friend → Freundin f;
woman teacher → Lehrerin f;
young woman → junge Frau;
women's page → Frauenseite f

Italian woman [pl women] [ˈwumən, ˈwɪmɪn] ndonna
cpd woman doctor ndottoressa;
woman friend namica;
woman teacher ninsegnante f;
women's page n (PRESS) → rubrica femminile

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She might be defined, I reflected, as The Woman Who Is Worthy Of Us; but the improbability which every healthily conceited young man must feel of ever finding such a one made the definition seem a little unserviceable.
For an apprentice Musketeer the young woman was almost an ideal of love.
When day dawned, but before the sun had risen, the woman came and awoke the two children, saying: 'Get up, you sluggards
 
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