By Jason Pickett
Aunt- c.1300, from Anglo-Fr. aunte, from O.Fr. ante, from L. amita "paternal aunt" dim. of *amma a hypothetical non-I.E. word for "mother," or possibly baby-talk. Extended senses include "an old woman, a gossip" (1590); "a procuress" (1678); and "any benevolent woman," in Amer.Eng., where auntie was recorded as "a term often used in accosting elderly women" since c.1790.
Biddy- "old woman," late 18c.; meaning "Irish maid-servant" is Amer.Eng.; both from pet form of common Irish proper name Bridget.
Bitch- O.E. bicce, probably from O.N. bikkjuna "female of the dog" (also fox, wolf, and occasionally other beasts, and a term of contempt applied to both men and women). The verb meaning "to complain" is at least 1930s, perhaps derived from sense of "to bungle, spoil," which is 1820s. Bitchy first attested 1925. Son of a bitch is O.N. bikkju-sonr. Slang bitchen "good" is first attested 1950s.
Bra- 17c., "woman's underbodice," from Fr. brassière "child's chemise, shoulder strap," from O.Fr. braciere "arm guard," from bras "an arm," from L. brachium (see brace). Modern use is a euphemistic borrowing first recorded 1909.
Bride- O.E. bryd, from P.Gmc. *bruthiz "woman being married" (in Gothic, "daughter-in-law"). Bridesmaid is from 1552.
Broad- O.E. brad, from P.Gmc. *braithaz. Not found outside Gmc, languages. Broadside (nautical), 1591, "the side of a ship above the water, between the bow and the quarter." Slang extension to meaning "woman" (1911) may be suggestive of broad hips, but it also may trace to Amer.Eng. abroadwife, for a woman away from her husband, often a slave. Earliest use suggests immorality
Brothel- late 16c., shortened from brothel-house, from brothel "prostitute" (1493), earlier "vile person" (of either sex), 14c., from O.E. broðen pp. of breoðan "deteriorate, go to ruin," from P.Gmc. *breuthanan, var. of *breutanan "to break." In 16c. brothel-house was confused with bordel (see bordello) and shifted meaning from a person to a place.
Butch- probably an abbreviation of butcher. Sense of "aggressive lesbian" is 1940s.
Clitoris- coined 1615 in Mod.L., from Gk. kleitoris, dim. of *kleitor "hill," related to kleitys "hill." Slang abbreviation clit first attested 1960s.
Cunnilingus- coined 1615 in Mod.L., from Gk. kleitoris, dim. of *kleitor "hill," related to kleitys "hill." Slang abbreviation clit first attested 1960s.
Cunt- M.E. cunte "female genitalia," akin to O.N. kunta, from P.Gmc. *kunton. According to Ayto, first known reference in Eng. is c.1230 Oxford street name Gropecuntlane, presumably a haunt of prostitutes. Some suggest a link with L. cuneus "wedge." Avoided in public speech since 15c., considered obscene since 17c.
Dame- 12c., from O.Fr. dame, from L.L. domna, from L. domina "lady, mistress of the house," from L. domus "house." Legal title for the wife of a knight or baronet. Slang sense of "woman" first attested 1902 in Amer.Eng.
Damsel- c.1225, from O.Fr. dameisele, modified by association with dame from earlier donsele, from Gallo-Romance *domnicella, dim. of L. domina "lady" (see dame). Archaic until revived by romantic poets, along with 16c.-17c. variant form damozel.
Daughter- O.E. dohtor, from P.Gmc. *dochter, earlier *dhukter, from I.E. *dhugheter. The modern spelling evolved in southern England, 16c.
Dyke- 1931, Amer.Eng., probably shortening of morphadike, dialectal garbling of hermaphrodite, but bulldyker "engage in lesbian activities" is attested from 1921, and a source from 1896 lists dyke as slang for "the vulva."
Egg- c.1340, from northern England dialect, from O.N. egg, which vied with M.E. eye, eai (from O.E. æg) until finally displacing it after 1500; both are from P.Gmc. *ajja(m), from I.E. *owyo-_/*oyyo- "egg."
Female- early 14c., from O.Fr. femelle, from M.L. femella "a female," from L. femella "young female, girl," dim. of femina "woman" (see feminine). Spelling alt. late 14c. on mistaken parallel of male.
Feminine- c.1350, from O.Fr. feminin, from L. femininus "feminine" (in the grammatical sense at first), from femina "woman, female," from base of felare "to suck, suckle," from I.E. base *dhei-
Gal- slang for "girl," attested from 1795. Gal Friday is 1940, from "Robinson Crusoe."
Girl- M.E. gyrle "child" (of either sex), perhaps related to O.E. gierela "garment." Specific meaning of "female child" is 14c. Like boy, lass, lad it is of obscure origin. "Probably most of them arose as jocular transferred uses of words that had originally different meaning." [O.E.D.] Applied to "any unmarried woman" since 1530. Girl next door as a type of unflashy attractiveness is first recorded 1961.
G Spot-
Gynaecologist- 1847, from Fr. gynécologie, from Gk. gynaik-, comb. form of gyne "woman" (from I.E. *gwen-) + Fr. -logie "study of."
Hag- shortening of O.E. hægtesse "witch, fury" (on assumption that -tesse was a suffix), but apparently originally "hedge-rider," from haga "enclosure" (see hedge). O.N. had tunriða and O.H.G. zunritha, both lit. "hedge-rider," used of witches and ghosts. One of the magic words for which there is no male form, suggesting its original meaning was close to "diviner, soothsayer," which were always female in northern European paganism, and hægtesse seem at one time to have meant "woman of prophetic and oracular powers" (Ælfric uses it to render the Gk. "pythoness," the source of the Delphic oracle), a figure greatly feared and respected. Later, the word was used of village wise women. Haga is also the haw- in hawthorn, which is a central plant in northern European pagan religion. There may be several layers of folk-etymology here. If the hægtesse was once a powerful supernatural woman (in Norse it is an alternate word for Norns, the three weird sisters, the equivalent of the Fates), it may have originally carried the hawthorn sense. Later, when the pagan magic was reduced to local scatterings, it might have had the sense of "hedge-rider," or "she who sits on the hedge," because the hedge was the boundary between the "civilized" world of the village and the wild world beyond. The hægtesse would have a foot in each reality. Even later, when it meant the local healer and root collector, living in the open and moving from village to village, it may have had the mildly pejorative sense of hedge- in M.E. (hedge-priest, etc.), suggesting an itinerant sleeping under bushes, perhaps. The same word could have contained all three senses before being reduced to its modern one.
Harem- 1634, from Turk. harem, from Ar. haram "wives and concubines," originally "women's quarters," lit. "something forbidden or kept safe," from root of harama "he guarded, forbade."
Harpy- c.1375, from Gk. Harpyia (pl.), ministers of divine vengeance; winged, clawed monsters with female heads and bodies, lit. "snatchers," probably related to harpazein "to snatch." Metaphoric extension to "greedy person" is c.1400.
Her- (objective case) - O.E. hire, third pers. sing. fem. dat. pronoun, which replaced acc. hie in early M.E. (see he).
her (possessive case) - O.E. hire, third pers. sing. fem. gen. form of heo "she." It developed pronoun forms hers, hern c. 14c. Hers (M.E.) is thus a double possessive.
Hooker- "prostitute," often traced to the disreputable morals of the Army of the Potomac under the tenure of Gen. "Fighting Joe" Hooker (1863), and certainly popularized by this association at that time. But said to have been in use in North Carolina c.1845. One theory traces it to Corlear's Hook, a disreputable section of New York City. Perhaps related to hooker "thief, pickpocket" (1567), but most likely an allusion to prostitutes hooking or snaring clients.
Hussy- 1530, "mistress of a household, housewife," alt. of M.E. husewif, from huse "house" + wif "wife." Gradually broadened to mean "any woman or girl," and by 1650 was being applied to "a woman or girl who shows casual or improper behavior," and a general derogatory sense had overtaken the word by 19c.
Hysterical- 1615, from L. hystericus "of the womb," from Gk. hysterikos "of the womb, suffering in the womb," from hystera "womb." Originally defined as a neurotic condition peculiar to women and thought to be caused by a dysfunction of the uterus. Hysterics is 1727; hysteria, abstract noun, formed 1801.
Lady- O.E. hlæfdige "mistress of a household, wife of a lord," lit. "one who kneads bread," from hlaf "bread" (see loaf) + -dige, related to dæge "maker of dough," from dag (see dough). Applied in O.E. to the Holy Virgin, hence many extended usages in plant names, etc., from gen. sing. hlæfdigan, which in M.E. merged with the nom., so that lady- often represents (Our) Lady's, cf
Lass- c.1300, from a Scandinavian source, cf. O.N. loskr "idle, weak," O.Swed. løsk "unmarried woman," W.Fris. lask "light, thin."
Lesbian- 1591, from Gk. lesbios "of Lesbos," Gk. island in northeastern Aegean Sea, home of Sappho, great lyric poet whose erotic and romantic verse embraced women as well as men, hence meaning "relating to homosexual relations between women" (1890) and the noun, first recorded 1925. Slang variant lez is from 1929.
Madame- 13c., from O.Fr. ma dame, lit. "my lady." Meaning "female owner or manager of a brothel" is first attested 1871.
Maid- 12c. shortening of maiden. Like that word, used in M.E. of unmarried men as well as women. Domestic help sense is short for maidservant (1526).
Maiden- O.E. mæden, mægden, dim. of mægð, mægeð "maid," from P.Gmc. *magthis "young womanhood, sexually inexperienced female," fem. variant of *maguz "boy," root of O.E. magu "child, son." Figurative sense of "new fresh, first" (cf. maiden voyage) first recorded 1555.
Mare- "female horse," O.E. mere (Mercian), myre (W.Saxon), fem. of O.E. mearh "horse," from P.Gmc. *markhjon. Mare's nest "illusory discovery, excitement over something which does not exist" is from 1619.
Maternal- 1481, from M.Fr. maternal, from V.L. *maternalis, from L. maternus "maternal," from mater "mother."
Miss- shortened form of mistress. Earliest use (1645) is for "prostitute, concubine;" sense of "title for a young unmarried woman, girl" first recorded 1666.
Mistress- 13c., from O.Fr. maistresse, fem. of maistre "master." Sense of "kept woman of a married man" is from late M.E.
Mom- 1579, nearly universal among the I.E. languages, probably a natural sound in baby-talk, perhaps imitative of sound made while sucking. In educated usage, the stress is always on the last syllable. In terms of recorded usage in Eng., mum is from 1823, mummy 1839, momma 1884, mom 1894, and mommy 1902
Mother- O.E. modor, from P.Gmc. *mothær, from I.E. *mater-. Spelling with -th- dates from early 16c., though that pronunciation is probably older. The verb meaning "to take care of" is first recorded 1863.
Mrs.- 1582, abbreviation of Mistress; the pl. Mmes. is an abbreviation of Fr. mesdames, pl. of madame
Ms.- (pl. Mses), 1949, considered a blend of Miss and Mrs.
Nymph- c.1385, from L. nympha "nymph, bride," from Gk. nymphe "bride," later "beautiful young woman," then "semi-divine being in the form of a beautiful maiden." Sense in Eng. of "young woman, girl" is from Gk.
Ovaries- 1658, from Mod.L. ovarium "ovary," from M.L. ovaria "the ovary of a bird," from L. ovum "egg," from I.E. *owyo-, *oyyo- "egg."
Princess- c.1370, from O.Fr. princesse, fem. of prince.
Prostitute- 1530, from L. prostituere "to expose to prostitution, expose publicly" from pro- "before" + statuere "cause to stand, establish." The noun sense of "harlot" is from 1613, from L. prostituta "prostitute," fem. of prostitutus, pp. of prostituere. The notion of "sex for hire" is not inherent in the etymology, which rather suggests one "exposed to lust" or sex "indiscriminately offered."
Pussy- 1726 as dim. of puss; as slang for "cunt" it is first recorded 1879 but probably much older and perhaps from O.N. puss "pocket, pouch" (cf. Low Ger. puse "vulva"). Pussy-whipped first attested 1956.
Queen- O.E. cwen "queen, woman, wife," from P.Gmc. *kwoeniz, from I.E. *gwen- "woman." Of bees, 1609; of chess piece, 1440; of playing card, 1575
Rag- O.N. rogg "shaggy tuft," earlier raggw-, or possibly from O.Dan. rag (see rug), or a back-formation from ragged (c.1300), which is from O.N. raggaðr "shaggy," via O.E. raggig "rag-like." As an insulting term for "newspaper, magazine" it dates from 1734; slang for "tampon, sanitary napkin" is attested from 1930s
She- O.E. seo, sio (acc. sie), fem. of demonstrative pronoun se "the." The O.E. word for "she" was heo, hio, however this converged by phonetic evolution with he "he," so the fem. demonstrative pronoun was probably used it its place (cf. similar development in Du. zij, Ger. sie, Gk. he, etc.). The original h- survives in her
Sister- O.E. sweostor, swuster, from P.Gmc. *swestr-, from I.E. *swesor, one of the most persistent and unchanging I.E. root words, recognizable in almost every modern I.E. language. Used of nuns in O.E.; of a woman in general from 1906; of a black woman from 1926; and in the sense of "fellow feminist" from 1912. Abbreviated form sis (Amer.Eng.) applied generally to to girls and young women (1859); hence sissy "effeminate man" (1887).
Sorority- 1532, from M.L. sororitas "of or pertaining to sisters," from L. soror "sister."
Sow- O.E. sugu and su "sow," from P.Gmc. *sugo, from I.E. base *su-, possibly imitative of pig noise. Related to swine
Spinster- 14c., "female spinner of thread," from M.E. spinnen (see spin) + -stere, feminine suffix. Spinning commonly done by unmarried women, hence the word came to denote "an unmarried woman" in legal documents from 1600s to early 1900s.
Tampon- 1848, from Fr. tampon, from M.Fr. tampon "plug" (see tampion). tampion - 1430, "plug, bung, wooden plug for a gun," from M.Fr. tampon, variant of O.Fr. tapon "piece of cloth to stop a hole," from Frank. *tappo "stopper, plug," related to O.H.G. zapho and O.E. tæppa "stopper" (see tap (2)).
Uterus- 14c., from L. uterus "womb, belly" (pl. uteri), from I.E. *udero-, *wedero-.
Vagina- 1682, from L. vagina "sheath, scabbard" (pl. vaginæ).
Virgin- 12c., from O.Fr. virgine, from L. virginem (nom. virgo) "maiden, unwedded girl or woman," also an adj., "fresh, unused," probably related to virga "young shoot." Also applied since M.E. to a chaste man. Virginals "small harpsichord," is from 1530, but the connection is unclear; virginity is from c.1303
Vulva- 1392, from L. vulva, earlier volva "womb, female sexual organ," lit. "wrapper," from volvere "to turn around, roll."
Wench- c.1300 wenche "girl or young woman" ("The wenche is nat dead, but slepith" Wyc., Matt. ix.24), shortened from wenchel "child" (12c.), from O.E. wencel, probably related to wancol "unsteady, fickle, weak." The word has degenerated by being used of servant girls. The verb meaning "to associate with common women" is from 1599.
Whore- O.E. hore "prostitute, harlot," from P.Gmc. *khoron, from I.E. *qar-, a base that has produced words in other languages for "lover" (cf. L. carus "dear"). The verb meaning "to have to do with whores" is from 1583. M.E. whoreson (often used affectionately) translates Anglo-Fr. fiz a putain.
Woman- O.E. wimman (pl. wimmen), alteration of wifman (pl. wifmen), a compound of wif "woman" (see wife) + man "human being." The pronunciation of the singular altered by the rounding influence of -w-; the plural retains the original vowel. The formation is peculiar to English. Replaced older O.E. wif, quean as the word for "female human being."
Womb- O.E. wamb, womb "belly, uterus," from P.Gmc. *wambo.