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A woman is a female human, in contrast to an adult male, who is a man.
The term woman (irregular plural: women) is usually used for an adult, with the term girl being the usual term for a female child or adolescent. However, the term is also sometimes used for a female human regardless of age, as in phrases like "women's rights".
Etymology
The English term "man" (from Proto-Germanic mannaz "man, person") and words derived therefrom can designate any or even all of the human race regardless of their gender or age. This is indeed the oldest usage of "man". In Old English the words wer and wyf (also wæpman and wifman) were what was used to refer to "a man" and "a woman" respectively, and "man" was gender neutral. In Middle English man displaced wer as term for "male human", whilst wyfman (which eventually evolved into woman) was retained for "female human". "Man" does continue to carry its original sense of "Human" however, resulting in an asymmetry sometimes criticized as sexist. * (See also Womyn.) The symbol for the planet Venus is the sign also known in biology for the female sex: a stylized representation of the goddess Venus's hand mirror: a circle with a small cross underneath (Unicode: ♀). The Venus symbol also represented femininity, and in ancient alchemy stood for copper. Alchemists constructed the symbol from a circle (representing spirit) above a cross (representing matter).
Terminology
The English language's original word for "woman" was Old English wīf, akin to German Weib; it later became the modern word "wife." The modern word "woman" etymologically derives from wīfmann, with the addition of mann, "person", from Germanic mannaz. This formation is peculiar to English. The equivalents for "man" in Old English were wer (a cognate of Latin vir, "man") and wǣpnedmann, literally "weaponed person". As previously mentioned, the term man continues to carry its original sense of "Human", though this usage results in an asymmetry which is sometimes criticized as sexist. The word girl originally meant "young person of either sex"; it was only around the beginning of the 16th century that it came to mean specifically a female child. Nowadays girl is also often used colloquially to refer to a young or unmarried woman. Since the early 1970s, feminists have challenged such usage, and today, using the word in the workplace (as in office girl) is typically considered inappropriate in the United States and United Kingdom because it implies a view of women as infantile. The use remains commonplace in several other English-speaking countries. Conversely, in certain non-Western cultures which link family honor with female virginity, the word girl is still used to refer to a never-married woman; in this sense it is used in a fashion roughly analogous to the obsolete English maid or maiden. Referring to an unmarried female as woman can, in such a culture, imply that she is sexually experienced, which would be an insult to her family. In more informal settings, the use of girl to refer to an adult female is also common practice in certain usage (such as girls' night out), even among elderly women. In this sense, girl may be considered to be the analogue to the British word bloke for a man. Some regard non-parallel usages, such as men and girls, as sexist. A number of other derogatory terms for women are also in common usage. There are various words used to refer to the quality of being a woman. The term "womanhood" merely means the state of being a woman; "femininity" is used to refer to a set of supposedly typical female qualities associated with a certain attitude to gender roles; "womanliness" is like "femininity", but is usually associated with a different view of gender roles; "femaleness" is a general term, but is often used as shorthand for "human femaleness"; "distaff" is an archaic adjective derived from women's conventional role as a spinner, now used only as a deliberate archaism; "muliebrity" is a "neologism" (derived from the Latin) meant to provide a female counterpart of "virility", but used very loosely, sometimes to mean merely "womanhood", sometimes "femininity", and sometimes even as a collective term for women. More on [ Woman ]
Religion and Spirituality :: Women
RT @AndrewBartlett: RT Sec Clinton, excellent speech on development: http://bit.ly/6mFryb . She says dev is security issue, w/ women central
CraigBeale (Craig Beale) Thu, 07 Jan 2010 11:56:46 -0000
RT @AndrewBartlett: RT Sec Clinton, excellent speech on development: http://bit.ly/6mFryb . She says dev is security issue, w/ women central
Why Weight Lifting for Women Can and Should Be More Intense ...: One of the most puzzling mysteries about weight l... http://bit.ly/5XEmSh
StefanoIsRaw (Stefano Martinelli) Thu, 07 Jan 2010 11:52:30 -0000
Why Weight Lifting for Women Can and Should Be More Intense ...: One of the most puzzling mysteries about weight l... http://bit.ly/5XEmSh
Video: Danish tourism board produces video marketing Denmark as a country with drunk women who have... http://tumblr.com/xzn5bd7in
haythamkhouja (Haytham Khouja) Thu, 07 Jan 2010 11:36:41 -0000
Video: Danish tourism board produces video marketing Denmark as a country with drunk women who have... http://tumblr.com/xzn5bd7in
RT @GooHollywoodGoo: Women who went to college are more likely than high school dropouts to enjoy both the giving and receiving of oral sex
LeafShinobi (Chy Bond) Thu, 07 Jan 2010 11:15:36 -0000
RT @GooHollywoodGoo: Women who went to college are more likely than high school dropouts to enjoy both the giving and receiving of oral sex
Southeastern Institute of Women in Politics aims to close politics' gender gap http://bit.ly/4r20hQ
LaVJapMil (Willis L. Miller) Thu, 07 Jan 2010 11:13:24 -0000
Southeastern Institute of Women in Politics aims to close politics' gender gap http://bit.ly/4r20hQ
Southeastern Institute of Women in Politics aims to close politics' gender gap http://bit.ly/6djkQv
WorkWithTrump (The Trump Network) Thu, 07 Jan 2010 11:13:23 -0000
Southeastern Institute of Women in Politics aims to close politics' gender gap http://bit.ly/6djkQv
The Nobel Peace Prize 2003 - Awarded to Shirin Ebadi, for her efforts for democracy and human rights. She has focused especially on the struggle for the rights of women and children. Includes a biography, press release, diploma, and her Nobel Lecture.
Al Muslima and Motherhood - Offers an independent midwifery and natural child-birth service; includes stories of births, information on Islam and Motherhood, and plans for the development of their service. [Philadelphia, PA, US]
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Arwa Bint Ahmed - A biography of Queen Arwa, who ruled Yemen for 40 years.
Famous Muslim Women - A collection of short boiographies of famous Muslim women, most of them from among Islam's early followers.
Meta Description: [ Stories of famous Muslim women and female contemporaries of the Prophet Mohammed ]
Islam and Women's History - About.com's collection of net links on women in Islam from a wide variety of sources and perspectives including both Muslim and non-Muslim.
Meta Description: [ Women's role and prominent women in the Muslim faith. From the time of the Prophet through today. ]
Maqsood, Ruqaiyyah Waris - Personal website of a woman convert and author of several books on Islam; includes details, and a collection of articles.
Meta Description: [ Ruqaiyyah Dawah Theology Islam ]
Maryum Jameelah - Formerly Margret Marcus, Maryam was the first American Jewish woman to convert to Islam.
Mernissi, Fatima - A profile of the female Moroccan journalist, her writings and influence.
Meta Description: [ IslamLib.com - Jaringan Islam Liberal Indonesia ]
Prophethood of Women - Translation of an 11th century debate regarding the possibility of women as Prophets.
Shamima Shaikh - Commemorative website devoted to this South African Muslim women's rights activist.
Meta Description: [ Shamima Shaikh was a foremost Muslim women's rights activist in South Africa. She died of breast cancer in January 1998 ]
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Sisters in Islam - A collection of articles and features, with a forum; for sisters in Islam and women who are interested in learning more about Islam.
Woman Muslim Leaders Throughout The Times - Brief profiles of women who have been politically powerful in Muslim states, from A'ishah Bint Abi Bakr to the present.
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Women Scholars of Hadith - Mohammad Omar Farooq's appraisal of Dr. Muhammad Zubayr Siddiqi's paper on early female Muslim scholars with an appeal for women's education and promotion of scholarship.
Zaynab al-Ghazali - Egyptian activist, Zaynab al-Ghazali headed the women's chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood.
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