A woman (/ˈwʊmən/), pl: women (/ˈwɪmɨn/) is a female human. The term woman is usually reserved for an adult, with the term girl being the usual term for a female child or adolescent. However, the term woman is also sometimes used to identify a female human, regardless of age, as in phrases such as "Women's rights". Unlike men, women are typically capable of giving birth.
Read more about Woman: Etymology, Terminology, History, Biology and Gender, Culture and Gender Roles
Famous quotes containing the word woman:
“A woman hostage
will call a young thief “hero”
and look at him with love,
even if she’s lost her mind with grief
because her family
has been slaughtered.
As far as virtues go,
who can hold a grudge?”
—Hla Stavhana (c. 50 A.D.)
“Wilt thou have this Woman to thy wedded wife, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honour, and keep her in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all other, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?”
—Book Of Common Prayer, The. Solemnization of Matrimony, “Betrothal,” (1662)
“What is desire?—
The impulse to make someone else complete?
That woman would set sodden straw on fire.”
—Theodore Roethke (1908–1963)