-woman

suffix

A woman who is an expert in an area.

“bogeywoman, superwoman”

OriginMiddle English woman ← Old English wīfmann ← Proto-West Germanic *mann →
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Meanings

suffix-woman (noun-forming suffix, plural -women, masculine -man)

plural -women · masculine -man

  1. A woman who is an expert in an area.

    horsewoman, sportswoman

  2. A woman who is employed or holds a position in an area.

    committeewoman, newswoman, policewoman

  3. A woman who has special characteristics relating to a topic or area.

    bogeywoman, superwoman

  4. A woman of a particular nationality.

    Scotswoman, Norsewoman

Synonyms & antonyms

Broader
-person
Also see
captain

Origin

  1. Proto-Germanic*wībą
  2. Proto-West Germanic*wīb
  3. Old Englishwīf
  4. Proto-Indo-European*mon-
  5. Proto-Germanic*mann-
  6. Proto-West Germanic*mann
  7. Old Englishmann
  8. Old Englishwīfmann
  9. Middle Englishwoman
  10. English-woman

From Middle English -woman, from the noun woman.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

-woman. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-woman

MLA

“-woman.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-woman. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “-woman,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-woman.

Source: -woman on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.