woman 
Pray, Mr. Neverout, hold your tongue for once, if it be 
possible; one would think you were a woman in man's 
cloaths, by your prating. Swi/t, Polite Conversation, iii. 
H'onuin seems to differ from man in mental disposition, 
chiefly in her greater tenderness and less seltlshnesa ; and 
this holds good even with savages. 
Darwin, Descent of Man, II. 311. 
2. The qualities which characterize woman- 
hood; tenderness; gentleness; also, when used 
of a man, effeminacy; weakness. 
But that my eyes 
Have more of woman in 'em than my heart, 
I would not weep. 
Beau, and FL, King and No King, iv. 4. 
3. A female attendant on a person of rank (used 
in such a connection as to show the special 
sense intended). 
Take it to ooji of youre moste secrete votnan, and bid 
hlr deliuer it to the flrste man that she fyndeth at the 
issue of the halle. Merlin (E. li. T. 8.), 1. 00. 
Sir Thomas Bollen's daughter — 
The Viscount Rochford — one of her highness' h'owwh. 
Shak., Hen. VIII., i. 4. 93. 
ChorcMng of women. Si.> church, r. ^ Lawful woman. 
See ia w/ui. — Married 'Woman's Act, the name undtr 
which are known a numtier of statutes, both in (Jrt-at 
Britain and in the United States (dating about 18,S0 and 
thereafter), by which the common-law disabilities of m.ar- 
ried women as to conti-acts, property, and rights of action 
have l)y successive stejis been nearly all removed. — Old 
woman's tooth. Same as router-plane (which see, un- 
der router). — Old-woman'B tree. See Qiiiinfi.— single 
woman. See «;i<//t'. — 'Ttie scarlet woman. See scarlel. 
— To be tied to a woman's apron-strings. See apron- 
string. — To make an honest woman of. See honest. — 
To play the woman, to give way to tenderness or pity ; 
weep. — Wise woman. See irw«i.— Woman of the 
town, a prostitute.-Woman of the world, (ot) a mar- 
rieil woman. See to go to the world, under vxrld. (b) A 
woman experienced in the ways of the world ; a woman 
engrossed in society or fashionable life. 
WOmant (wura'an), I', t. [< woman, ti.] 1. To 
act the part of a woman : with an indefinite it. 
This day I should 
Haue scene my daughter Siluia how she would 
Haue u^omand it. Daniel, Hymen's Triumpli, iii. 2. 
2. To cause to act like a woman ; subdue to 
weakness like a woman. 
I have felt so many quirks of joy and grief 
That the first face of neither, on the start, 
Can woman me unto 't. Shale., .\11 s Well, iii. 2. .13. 
8. To unite to, or accompany by, a woman. 
I do attend here on the general : 
And think it no addition, nor my wish, 
To have him see me woman d. 
Shak., Othello, liL 4. 19.-,. 
4. To call (a person) "woman" in an abusive 
way. 
She called her another time fat-face, and wonian^d her 
most violently. /(icAardson, Pamela, II. 2U8. (.Dai-ies.) 
woman-body (wmu'an-bo<l'i), «. A woman: 
used disparaginplv or in self-depreciation. 
[Scotch.] 
It was an awkward thing for a woman-bo'hi to bestani! 
tng among bundles o' barkened leather her lane. 
Scotl, Heart of Mid-Lothian, x 
WOman-bom (wum'an-bom), «. Born of wo- 
man, (owjier. Charity, 1. 181. 
WOman-built(wiun'an-bilt),a. Built by women. 
A new-world Babel, wmnan-btiilt. 
Teniiymn, Princess, iv. 
WOmanfulIv (wiim'an-ful-i). adr. [< iroman + 
-ful + -/.i/'-.J Like a woman : a word humor- 
ously employed to correspond with mnnftdhj. 
For near fourscore years she fought her fight womnn- 
fully. Thackeray, Newcomes, ii. 
Anne alone . . . stood up by her father iimnanfuUj, 
and put her arm through his. 
Mrs, OUphant, Poor Gentleman, xlvi 
woman-grown (wum'an-gron), a. Grown to 
wonianhiiod. Tinnijson, Aylmer's Field. 
woman-guard Cwum'an-giird), «. A guanl of 
women. 
The Princess with her monstrous tccman-gvaril. 
Tennyson, Princess, iv, 
woman-ha'ter (wum'an-ha't^r), H. One Willi 
has an aversion to women in general: a mi- 
sogynist. 
This Coarseness [toward women] does not alwaies come 
from Clowns and Women-haters, hut from Persons of Fig- 
ure, neither singular nor ill Bred. 
Jeremy CMier, .Short View (ed. 169'-), p. 171. 
womanheadt (wiim'an-hed), n. [< ME. M'om- 
mnnhide ; < womnn -f'-hcad.] Tlie state or con- 
dition of a woman; womanhood. 
The nuene anon, for vermy wommanhede, 
Can for to wepe. Chaucer, Knight's Tale, 1. 89<). 
I shall as now do more for you 
Than longeth to Womnnhede. 
The Sut-Brown ilaid. 
womanhood (wftm'an-hud), «. [< ME. •«•««(- 
■manhod ; < woman + -hood. Cf. iroinaiiliead.] 
1. Womanly state, character, or qualities; the 
state of being a woman. 
6961 
Setting thy womanhood aside. 
Shak., 1 Hen. IV., iii. 3. 139. 
Her womanhood 
In its meridian. Byron, Don Juan, ix. 71. 
2. Women collectively ; womankind, 
womanish (wum'an-ish), (7. [< icdiiian + -islA.'] 
Pertaining to, characteristic of, or suitable for 
women; feminine; effeminate: often used in a 
disparaging or reproachful sense when said of 
men: as, icomanish ways; a tromanisli voice; 
womanish fears. 
Tlio wordes and tho wommnnnishe thynges, 
She herde hem right as though she thennes. 
Chaucer, Troihis, iv. 094. 
In what a shadow, or deep pit of darliness, 
Doth womanish and fearful mankind live I 
Webster, Duchess of Malfl, v. 6. 
He conceals, under a rough air aiul distant behaviour, 
a bleeding compassion and womanish tenderness. 
Steele, Spectator, Xo. 34(>. 
=Syn. Female, Efemituite, etc. ^ee feminine. 
womanishly ( wum'an-ish-li), adv. In a woman- 
ish manner ; effeminately. 
The people weare long haire, in combing whereof they 
are wmnanishly curiou.s, these hoping by their lockes to 
be carried into heauen. Purchas, Piigriniage, p. 44.'>. 
womanishness (wum'an-isli-nes), H. The state 
or character of being womanish. 
Effeminacy and icomanishnesg of heart. 
Hamvwinl, ^\'orks, IV. .107. 
womanizet (wiim'an-iz), V. t. ; pret. and pj). 
womanized, ppr. womanizing. [< ifomiin + -/,-f.] 
To make effeminate ; make womanish ; soften. 
[Rare.] 
This effeminate love of a woman doth so u-omanize a 
man. Sir P. Sidney, Arcadia, i. 
womankind (wiim'an-kind'), n. [Also wiinii n- 
kind ; < iroman + -kind ; contrasted witli man- 
hind.] 1. Women in general; the female 8C.\; 
the females collectively of tlie human kind. 
O despiteful love I unconstant womankind .' 
Shak, T. of the S., iv. 2. 14. 
Teach Woman-kintl Inconstancy and Pride. 
Cowley, The Mistress. Prophei. 
"Sair droukit was she, puir thing, sae I e'en put a glass 
o" sherry in her water-gruel. " " Right, Orizel, right— let 
tcomanki)id alone for coddling each other." 
Scott, Anticiuary, ix. 
2. A body of women, especially in a houseluild: 
tho female members of a family. [Humorous.] 
At last the S<iuire gracefully allowed the departure of 
his wowenkinil, who floated away like a flock of reli-aseil 
birds. .Mrs. Craik, Agatha's Husband, xv. 
WOmanless (wVim'an-les), a. [< woman + -/(w.] 
Destitute of women. 
womanlike (wum'an-lik), a. I, ike a woman ; 
womanly. 
Womanlike, taking revenge to<i deep for a transient 
wrong. Tennyson, Maud, iii. 
womanliness (wum'an-li-nes). II. Tlie charac- 
ter of being womanly. 
There is nothyng wherein theyr noinanlynesst' is more 
h'inestely garnyshed than with syleiice. 
J. L'dalt,On 1 Tim. ii. 
womanly (wiim'an-li), a. [< ME. wiiiiimanlicli, 
ininiiniiiitiili; < woman + -/,'/!.] C'liaracterislic 
of, like, or befitting a woman ; suiting a wo- 
man ; feminine; not masculine; not girlish: 
IIS, woinanl;/ beliavior. 
Thus nniche as now, O wnmanliche wyf, 
I may out Ijiingo. Chaucer, Troilus, iii. liHl. 
See where she conies, and brings yonr froward wives 
As prisoners to her u'mnanly persuasion. 
Shiik., T. of the S., v. 2. 120. 
.So that. loathed by their husbands and burning with a 
Homanly spleen,in one night they [the women] massacred 
them iill, together with their concubines. 
Sandys, Travailes, p. V.K 
A blnsliing womanly discovering grace. 
Donne, F-legy on his Mistress. 
Will she grow gentler, sweeter, more womaidii ? 
' W. Black 
= Syn. Womanish, Ladylike, etc. .See feminine. 
womanly (wi'un'an-li), rtfff. [<, womanly, a.] In 
the manner of a woman. 
I-ullaby can I sing too, 
As womanly as can the best. 
Gascmyne, Lullabic of a Lover. 
woman-postt (wiim'an-post), n. A female jiost 
or messenger. [Rare.] 
But who comes in such haste in riding-robes? 
What mnimn-post, is this? Shak., K. John, i. 1. 218. 
woman-queller (wum'an-kwel''''er), n. One who 
kills women. See manqu/ller. 
Thou art a honey-seed, a maii-qucller, and a mnnon- 
queller. Shak.. 2 Hen. IV,, ii. 1. ;,t,. 
woman-suffrage (■wVim'an-suf "rS.i), ». The ex- 
ercise of thc> electoral franchise by women. 
[(Jolloc],] 
Woman-SUffragist (wi'im'an-suf'ra-jist), n. An 
advocate of woman-suffrage. [Colloq.] 
womb-pipe 
WOman-tiredt (wiim'an-tird), a. [< woman + 
tired, pp. of tire^.] Henpecked. [Rare.] 
Dotard I thou art woman-tired, unroosted 
By thy dame Partlet here. Shak., W. T., ii. 3. 74. 
woman-vested (wum'an-ves"ted), a. Clothed 
like a woman : wearing women's apparel. 
[Rare.] 
Woman-vested as I was. Tennyson, Princess, iv. 
womb (worn), 11. [E. dial, and Se. wanie; < ME. 
wambe, wombe, < AS. wamh, womb, the belly, = 
OS. wamba = OFries. wamme = D. warn, belly 
of a fish, = OHG. wamba, wampti {womba, 
wnniba), MHG. wambe, wampc. later wamme, G. 
wamme, n-amjie, belly, lap, = Icel. viimb, belly, 
esp. of a beast, = Sw. rdm =Dan. rom = Goth. 
«'rt»i7)«, belly.] If. The belly; the stomach. 
Mete unto wombe and wombe eek unto mete, 
Shal God destroyen botlie, as Paultis seith. 
Chaucer, Pardoner's Tale, 1. 60. 
"ilan, loue thi icombe," quod Gloteny. 
Hymns to Viryin, etc. (E. E. T. S.), p. 64. 
.\n I had but a belly of any indifferency, I were simply 
the most active fellow in Europe. My womb, my womb, 
my womb undoes me. Shak., 2 Hen. IV., iv. 3. 2.1. 
"Why, .Andrew, you know all the secrets of the family.*' 
"If I ken them, I can keep them," said Andrew; "they 
winna work in my )cn)n« like barm in a barrel, I'se war- 
rant ye." ScMtt, Kob Roy, vi. 
2. The uterus ; tho hollow dilated rausculo- 
membranous part of tho female pass.iges, be- 
tween the vagina and the Fallopian tubes, in 
which the ovum is receiveil. detained, and nour- 
islied during gestation, or the period intervening 
between fecundation and parturition : applied 
chietly to this organ of the liumaii female and 
some of the higher or better-known inammalian 
quadrupeds, the corresponding part of the pas- 
sages of other anitnals being commonly called 
by the technical name uterus. See uterus (with 
cut), and cut under peritoneum. 
That was Sein Johan, in his moder irombe. 
.■Inercn Biwte, 1. 78. 
Twinn'd brothers of one icomh. Shak., T. of A., iv. 3. 3. 
Ere the sad fruit of thy unhappy womb 
Had caus'd such sorrows past, and woes to come. 
Pope, Iliad, xviii. 113. 
Hence — 3. The place where anything is pro- 
duced. 
That dill my ripe thoughts in my brain Inhearse, 
Making their Unnh the wmnb wherein they grew. 
Shak., .Sinuiets, IxxxvL 
The womb of eartli the genial seed receives. 
Dryden, (Jc<ugics, ii. 439. 
4. Any large or deep cavity that receives or 
contains anything. 
The fatal cannon's womb. Shak., R, ami J., v. 1. 65. 
As, when black tempests mix the seas and skies, 
The roaring deeps in wat'ry mountains rise, 
Above the sides of some tall ship ascend. 
Its wfmib they deluge, and its ribs they rend. 
/'"/«■, Ilhid. XV. 443. 
Body of the womb. .Same as corpus uteri (which see, 
iiniler corpus). - Falling Of the womb. Same as prolapse 
o.f the uterus (which see, under uterus).— Fundus Of the 
womb, the iipjiei part of the uterus —Male womb. Same 
:is prostatic reside (which see, under prostatic).— JHec^ 01 
the womb. Same as cervix uteri (which see, under cer- 
rir).— Prolapse of the womb. Same as priilapse of the 
uterus (which see, under titerus). 
wombt (wiim), I', t. [< wonili. ».] To inclose; 
contain ; breed in secret. 
Not . . . for all the sun sees or 
The close earth womhs or the profound seas hide 
In unknown fathoms, will T breali my oath. 
Shak., \y. T., iv. 4, 501. 
wombat (wom'bat), n. [A corruption of the 
native Australian name wombaek or wombaeh.'] 
.\n ,\iistra!ian marsupial mammal of the genus 
riiasriitoiiii/.':, as I', wombat or /'. iirsiniis. See 
<*ut under Phasrolonii/s. 
WOmb-brothert (wi>in'bniTH "or), ». A brother 
uterini'. [Rare.] 
Edmund of Haddani . . . was son to (Jneen Katherine 
bytlwcn Theodor, her second husttand, Womb-brotlor to 
King Henry the Sixth, and t'ather to King Henry llie Sev- 
enth. Fuller, Worthies. (Dories.) 
WOmbed(womd), rt. [< womb -^- -id".] Having 
a womb, in any sense. 
I'll muster forces, an unvaiuniish'd jiower ; 
Cornets of horse shall Jiress th' ungiatefnl earth ; 
This hollow wombed mass shall inly groan. 
And murmur to sustain the welght'of arms. 
Marston, Antonio and Mellhia, 1., iii. I. 
womb-grain (wiim'gran), )/. Ergot, or sjnirred 
rye (technically called seeole roniutuiii): so 
called from the effect of tho dnig upon the 
uterus. 
womb-passage (wom'pas'^a.i). «. The vagina. 
See cut uiii\i'r jieritmieum. 
WOmb-pipet, «. Same as woinb-pas.taiji'. Cut- 
ijrare. 
