man

Etymology 1

From Middle English man, from Old English mann m (“human being, person, man”), from Proto-West Germanic *mann, from Proto-Germanic *mann- m, from Proto-Indo-European *mon- (“human being, man”). Doublet of Manu.

noun

1. An adult male human.
   The show is especially popular with middle-aged men.
2. (collective) All human males collectively: mankind.
   Unsurprisingly, if modern man is a sort of camera, modern woman is a picture. 2011, Eileen Gray and the Design of Sapphic Modernity: Staying In, page 109
3. A human, a person regardless of gender or sex, usually an adult. (See usage notes.)
   every man for himself
   A man would expect, in so very ancient a town of Italy, to find some considerable antiquities; but all they have to show of this nature is an old Rostrum of a Roman ship, that stands over the door of their arsenal. c. 1700, Joseph Addison, Monaco, Genoa, &c., page 9
   Similarly, the next time you learn from your reading that the average man (you hear a good deal about him these days, most of it faintly improbable) brushes his teeth 1.02 times a day—a figure I have just made up, but it may be as good as anyone else's – ask yourself a question. How can anyone have found out such a thing? Is a woman who has read in countless advertisements that non-brushers are social offenders going to confess to a stranger that she does not brush her teeth regularly? 1991 edition (original: 1953), Darell Huff, //archive.org/details/HowToLieWithStatistics How to Lie with Statistics, pages 19–20
   We are striving to forge our union with purpose. To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and conditions of man. January 20 2021, Amanda Gorman, The Hill We Climb
4. (collective) All humans collectively: mankind, humankind, humanity. (Sometimes capitalized as Man.)
   How did God create man? God created man male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures. 1647, Westminster Shorter Catechism, question 10
   Academics who study Aboriginal languages are […] contributing to Man’s search for knowledge, a search that interests most people even if they are not personally involved in it. 1991, Barry J. Blake, Australian Aboriginal Languages: A General Introduction, page 75
   Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine. The machine gun is so much more lethal than the bow and arrow that comparisons are meaningless. 2013-07-20, “Old soldiers?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845
5. (anthropology, archaeology, paleontology) A member of the genus Homo, especially of the species Homo sapiens.
   The evidence suggests that close relatives of early man, in lineages that later became extinct, also were able to use tools. 1990, The Almanac of Science and Technology, page 68
6. A male person, usually an adult; a (generally adult male) sentient being, whether human, supernatural, elf, alien, etc.
   For God is holde a ryghtwys man. c. 1500, “A Gest of Robyn Hode”, in Child Ballads
   Clearing a space between the tables, the men tested their prowess against one another with feats of wrestling and archery and bouts with quarterstaves. Two of the elves, a man and a woman, demonstrated their skill with swordplay—[…] 2008, Christopher Paolini, Brisingr: Or The Seven Promises of Eragon Shadeslayer and Saphira Bjartskular - Inheritance Book Three, page 549
   There was a pair of burly dwarves – a woman and a man – bearing the markings of the formidable Thane Guards. 2014, Oisin McGann, Kings of the Realm: Cruel Salvation, Penguin UK
7. An adult male who has, to an eminent degree, qualities considered masculine, such as strength, integrity, and devotion to family; a mensch.
   I had the opportunity to marry one of them but wasn't mature enough to be a man and marry her and be close to the[…]children and raise them[…]. 2011, Timothy Shephard, Can We Help Us?: Growing Up Bi-Racial in America, page 181
8. (uncountable, obsolete, uncommon) Manliness; the quality or state of being manly.
9. A husband.
   In the next place, every wife ought to answer for her man. 1715, Joseph Addison, The Freeholder
10. A male lover; a boyfriend.
11. A male enthusiast or devotee; a male who is very fond of or devoted to a specified kind of thing. (Used as the last element of a compound.)
    Some people prefer apple pie, but me, I’m a cherry pie man.
12. A person, usually male, who has duties or skills associated with a specified thing. (Used as the last element of a compound.)
    I wanted to be a guitar man on a road tour, but instead I’m a flag man on a road crew.
13. A person, usually male, who can fulfill one's requirements with regard to a specified matter.
    "She's the man for the job." 2007, Thriller: Stories to Keep You Up All Night, page 553
    Joanie volunteered, of course — if any dirty job is on offer requiring running, she's your man 2008, Soccer Dad: A Father, a Son, and a Magic Season, page 148
    He also owns the only backhoe tractor on Elbow Cay, so whenever anyone needs a cistern dug, he's their man. 2012, The Island Caper: A Jake Lafferty Action Novel, page 34
14. A male who belongs to a particular group: an employee, a student or alumnus, a representative, etc.
    When President Roosevelt goes walking in the country about Washington he is always accompanied by two Secret Service men. 1909, Harper's Weekly, volume 53, page iii
    "And they're very good people, I assure you — he's a Harvard man." It was the first time Milly had met on intimate terms a graduate of a large university. 1913, Robert Herrick, One Woman's Life, page 46
15. An adult male servant.
16. (historical) A vassal; a subject.
    Like master, like man. (old proverb)
    all the king's men
    The vassal, or tenant, kneeling, ungirt, uncovered, and holding up his hands between those of his lord, professed that he did become his man from that day forth, of life, limb, and earthly honour. c. 1700s, William Blackstone
17. A piece or token used in board games such as backgammon.
    The white men are always put on that side of the board which commences by row I, and the black men are placed opposite. 1883, Henry Richter, Chess Simplified!, page 4
18. A term of familiar address often implying on the part of the speaker some degree of authority, impatience, or haste.
    Come on, man, we've got no time to lose!
19. A friendly term of address usually reserved for other adult males.
    Hey, man, how's it goin'?
20. (sports) A player on whom another is playing, with the intent of limiting their attacking impact.
    2018 Dinny Navaratnam, Andrews will learn from experience: Fagan Brisbane Lions, 30 July 2018. Accessed 6 August 2018. "It was a brutal return to football for Brisbane Lions defender Harris Andrews as his man Tom Hawkins booted seven goals but Lions Coach Chris Fagan said the team's defensive faults, rather than the backman's, allowed the big Cat to dominate."
    The second arrived three minutes later and was all Saka's own work, the Arsenal winger turning away from his man on the edge of the area and curling a superb effort beyond the reach of Anatoliy Trubin and into the top corner. March 26, 2023, Phil McNulty, “England 2-0 Ukraine”, in BBC Sport

adj

1. Only used in man enough

intj

1. Used to place emphasis upon something or someone; sometimes, but not always, when actually addressing a man.
   Man, that was a great catch!
   The 19 meandering minutes of Dark Star are attractive enough but, man, they go on, while poor Creedence Clearwater Revival – headliners, with Bad Moon Rising still in the charts – are watching the clock tick in the wings. August 15, 2019, Bob Stanley, “'Groovy, groovy, groovy': listening to Woodstock 50 years on – all 38 discs”, in The Guardian
   For quotations using this term, see Citations:man.

pron

1. (MLE, slang, personal pronoun) Used to refer to oneself or one's group: I, we; construed in the third person.
   man's got some new creps
   Sully: If it weren’t for that snake […] Man wouldn’t even be in this mess right now. 2011, Top Boy
   before I got arrested man paid for my own ticket to go Jamaica you know . but I’ve never paid to go on no holiday before this time I paid (Dexter, MLE) 2013, Jenny Cheshire, “Grammaticalisation in social context: The emergence of a new English pronoun”, in Journal of Sociolinguistics, volume 17, number 5, page 609
   Blood I swear she just gave man extra chicken? Two fat pieces of chicken. 2017, Joseph Barnes Phillips, Big Foot ...and Tiny Little Heartstrings
2. (MLE, slang, personal pronoun) You; construed in the third person.
   man thinks i was born yesterday
   Oh, come on. Help a brother out. People see you coppin', might inspire them. Look, I know you ain't payin' bills right now. Man must have bare peas saved up. 2023, Nathan Bryon, Tom Melia, directed by Raine Allen-Miller, Rye Lane, spoken by Nathan (Simon Manyonda)
3. (MLE, slang, indefinite personal pronoun) Any person, one
   man don't care
   He was of all colours Þat man may se of flours Be-twene Mydsomer and May. c. 1450, Thomas Chestre, Libeaus Desconus
   I don’t really mind how . how my girl looks if she looks decent yeah and there’s one bit of her face that just looks mashed yeah . I don’t care it’s her personality man’s looking at (Alex, Multicultural London English corpus [MLE]) 2013, Jenny Cheshire, “Grammaticalisation in social context: The emergence of a new English pronoun”, in Journal of Sociolinguistics, volume 17, number 5, page 609

Etymology 2

From Middle English mannen, from Old English mannian, ġemannian (“to man, supply with men, populate, garrison”), from mann (“human being, man”). Cognate with Dutch bemannen (“to man”), German bemannen (“to man”), Danish bemande (“to man”), Swedish bemanna (“to man”), Icelandic manna (“to supply with men, man”).

verb

1. (transitive) To supply (something) with staff or crew (of either sex).
   The ship was manned with a small crew.
   In Britain, nearly 2,500 steam locomotives were built, 999 to new designs. Although the latter were modern, they were still labour-intensive to man and maintain, during a period of full employment when working for poor pay in the dirty railway environment was unattractive. March 8 2023, David Clough, “The long road that led to Beeching”, in RAIL, number 978, page 39
2. (transitive) To take up position in order to operate (something).
   Man the machine guns!
   ‘Avast!’ roared Ahab, dashing him against the bulwarks — ‘Man the boat! Which way heading?’ 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick
3. (reflexive, possibly dated) To brace (oneself), to fortify or steel (oneself) in a manly way. (Compare man up.)
   he manned himself heroically 1876, Julian Hawthorne, Saxon Studies
4. (transitive, obsolete) To wait on, attend to or escort.
5. (transitive, obsolete, chiefly falconry) To accustom (a raptor or other type of bird) to the presence of people.