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

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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

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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 ]

USATODAY.com Womens College Basketball - Top Stories

At No. 1, Moore & UConn won't settle for less than another title
Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:14:08 -0000
Maya Moore did not play a second for the USA last summer in the World University Games in Serbia after spraining her right knee. ...
Eastern Illinois assistant women's basketball coach dies
Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:48:43 -0000
An assistant women's basketball coach at Eastern Illinois University is dead.
UNC's Hatchell: Breland's lymphoma in remission
Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:05:57 -0000
North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell says Jessica Breland's Hodgkin's lymphoma has gone into remission, though it's still unclear ...
Top 25: Defending champ UConn a unanimous pick for preseason No. 1
Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:19:11 -0000
The USA TODAY/ESPN women's preseason coaches' poll with first-place votes in parentheses. Total points are based on 25 points ...
UConn's Moore leads way on AP's preseason All-America team
Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:11:28 -0000
Connecticut forward Maya Moore has become the seventh unanimous choice on The Associated Press' preseason All-America team. She ...
Previews of all 31 women's Division I basketball conferences
Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:26:00 -0000
Capsules for every Division I women's basketball conference:

North Carolina Women's Tennis news

Carolina Hosts Annual Kitty Harrison Invitational This Weekend
Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:19:47 -0500
Tournament Program With Schedule Of Play The University of North Carolina will host the sixth-annual Kitty Harrison Invitational this weekend. Matches will be played both at UNC's Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center and Duke's Ambler Tennis Stadium and Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center. This year's 12-team field features seven Atlantic Coast Conference squads - Duke, Georgia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia and Virginia Tech - as well as five national programs - Florida, Minnesota, Princeton, TCU and William & Mary.
Tar Heels Fall At ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships
Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:14:43 -0500
North Carolina seniors Sophie Grabinski and Sanaz Marand fell in opening round play at the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships Thursday at Yale's Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center. By virtue of their first round exits, they are guaranteed at least one consolation match.
Grabinski And Marand Repeat As Wilson/ITA Champions
Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:38:02 -0500
North Carolina's Sanaz Marand and Sophie Grabinski held off a furious charge from Clemson's Josipa Bek and Ina Hadziselimovic to secure an 8-6 victory in the final match of the Wilson/ITA Carolinas Regional Championships at the Indoor Tennis Center on the campus of Wake Forest University. The win gives the senior duo back-to-back regional titles, as the pair triumphed in last year's ITA Southeast Regional final.

North Carolina Women's Soccer news

Tar Heels Advance In ACC Tournament
Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:17:38 -0500
Watch UNC-BC Game For Free On ACC SelectEveland Will Play In 100th Career Game FridayPost Game Audio With Anson Dorrance (mp3)Audio With ACC Defensive Player of the Year Whitney Engen (mp3)The News & Observer: Tar Heel Women Top MarylandFinal Box Score: UNC 3, Maryland 0Three Tar Heel Women's Soccer Players Earn Academic All-District HonorsVote For Kristi Eveland For Lowe's Senior CLASS AwardACC Women's Soccer Tournament Championship PageFollow UNC Women's Soccer On TwitterNorth Carolina played the unfamiliar role of No. 3 seed as the 2009 ACC Championship concluded quarterfinal play Wednesday night at WakeMed Soccer Park. Other than that, the Tar Heels followed a familiar script. UNC scored a goal in first half and added two in the second to blank sixth-seeded Maryland, 3-0, and advanced to Friday's 7:30 p.m. semifinal match against second-seeded Boston College. The win upped the NCAA defending and four-time defending ACC champion Tar Heels' all-time record in ACC Championship play to 55-0-3. The nationally-fifth-ranked Tar Heels have won 19 of the previous 21 ACC Championships.
UNC Starts ACC Title Hunt Versus Maryland Tonight
Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:09:49 -0500
Watch UNC vs. Maryland Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. on ACC SelectACC Tournament BracketPurchase ACC Tournament TicketsThree Tar Heel Women's Soccer Players Earn Academic All-District HonorsVote For Kristi Eveland For Lowe's Senior CLASS AwardInside ACCess: A Look Inside ACC Women's Soccer Featuring UNC's Whitney EngenWatch Special UNC Senior Video Interviews On CollegeSoccer360.comACC Women's Soccer Tournament Championship PageFollow UNC Women's Soccer On TwitterThird-seeded North Carolina and sixth-seeded Maryland will meet Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the quarterfinals of the 2009 Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Soccer Tournament at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. This will be the second meeting in three days between the Tar Heels and the Terrapins. The teams met just this past Sunday in College Park, Md. with the Tar Heels winning 1-0 at Ludwig Field on a goal in the seventh minute of play by sophomore midfielder Maria Lubrano.
Three Tar Heels Earn First-Team All-ACC Honors
Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:28:11 -0500
Watch UNC vs. Maryland Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. on ACC SelectACC Tournament BracketPurchase ACC Tournament TicketsThree Tar Heel Women's Soccer Players Earn Academic All-District HonorsVote For Kristi Eveland For Lowe's Senior CLASS AwardInside ACCess: A Look Inside ACC Women's Soccer Featuring UNC's Whitney EngenWatch Special UNC Senior Video Interviews On CollegeSoccer360.comACC Women's Soccer Tournament Championship PageFollow UNC Women's Soccer On TwitterFlorida State sophomore forward Tiffany McCarty and North Carolina senior defender Whitney Engen head up the 2009 Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Soccer Team, as announced today by Commissioner John D. Swofford. The Tar Heels landed three players on the first-team all-conference squad in senior defender Whitney Engen, senior goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris and senior midfielder Tobin Heath. Two Tar Heels were named second-team All-ACC - junior forward Jessica McDonaldand junior midfielder Ali Hawkins.

North Carolina Women's Lacrosse news

Tar Heels To Face Challenging 2010 Schedule
Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:14:37 -0500
2010 Schedule (.pdf)Follow Carolina Women's Lacrosse On TwitterRegister For Winter Camp (Dec. 18-20, 2009)Download Carolina's 2009 Summer Newsletter (.pdf)University of North Carolina women's lacrosse coach Jenny Levy released her squad's 2010 schedule on Monday, and the slate once again is among the nation's most challenging. The schedule features seven opponents who earned bids to the 2009 NCAA Tournament, including five-time defending national champion Northwestern, Georgetown, Penn, Vanderbilt and Atlantic Coast Conference rivals Duke, Maryland and Virginia.
Newton, Kristen Taylor Earn Spots On IWLCA Academic Team
Sat, 05 Sep 2009 01:08:48 -0500
Russell, Carr, Fitzgerald Named To U.S. Developmental TeamVote For Falcone In Inside Lacrosse LaxiesRegister For Winter Camp (Dec. 18-20, 2009)Download Carolina's 2009 Summer Newsletter (.pdf)Four Tar Heels Named To Academic All-ACC Team Download & Watch 2009 Season Review Slideshow2009 Carolina Season Review In Brief (.pdf)University of North Carolina women's lacrosse players Kristen Taylor and Meredith Newton both earned spots on the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Academic Squad, released this week by the IWLCA.
Four Tar Heels Named To Academic All-ACC Team
Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:09:17 -0500
Women's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year Caitlyn McFadden of Maryland highlights the 2009 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Academic team as announced today by Commissioner John D. Swofford. Four University of North Carolina players -- Taylor Chumney, Corey Donohoe, Meredith Newton and Kristen Taylor -- were on the team. Taylor is a three-time honoree and Donohoe is on the team for the second year in a row.

North Carolina Women's Basketball news

No. 5 Carolina Runs Past Francis Marion, 105-64
Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:58:41 -0500
Tar Heels No. 5 In Preseason AP PollCarolina Basketball Podcast - Krista GrossCarolina Basketball Podcast - Tierra Ruffin-PrattFollow UNC Women's Basketball On TwitterFreshman Tierra Ruffin-Pratt led five Tar Heels in double figures as No. 5 North Carolina topped Division II Francis Marion, 105-64, Thursday night at the Dean E. Smith Center. Ruffin-Pratt added seven rebounds, four steals and three assists on the night for UNC, which will play its second and final exhibition Nov. 10 against Carson-Newman. FMU's Shannon Singleton-Bates had a game-high 28 points to lead the Patroits.
No. 5 UNC Opens Exhibition Schedule Thursday
Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:45:43 -0500
Hatchell Press Conference Audio (mp3)Media Day Player Audio: Lucas | DeGraffenreidTar Heels No. 5 In Preseason AP PollCarolina Basketball Podcast - Krista GrossCarolina Basketball Podcast - Tierra Ruffin-PrattFollow UNC Women's Basketball On TwitterThe No. 5 North Carolina women's basketball team will take to the court for game action for the first time Thursday when the Tar Heels host Division II Francis Marion in an exhibition matchup at 7 p.m. at the Smith Center. The game is the first of two exhibitions for UNC, which will also host Carson-Newman on Nov. 10.
Carolina Opens Season At No. 5 In AP Poll
Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:15:52 -0500
The North Carolina women's basketball team will open its 2009-10 campaign ranked No. 5 in the preseason Associated Press poll, the AP announced Friday. The Tar Heels, who were 28-7 a year ago, were picked to win the Atlantic Coast Conference earlier in the week.

North Carolina Women's Golf news

Tar Heels Close Fall Season With Tie At 11th
Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:07:39 -0500
Complete Results The University of North Carolina women's golf team shot 912 over the weekend to finish play at the NCAA Fall Preview. The Heels tied for 11th place alongside Georgia and LSU to end their fall season. Senior Kate Thomas, of Murwillumbah, Australia, led the Carolina squad with a seven-over 223 for the tournament.
Carolina Golfers 16th At NCAA Fall Preview
Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:19:40 -0500
Complete ResultsThe North Carolina women's golf team fired a 15-over-par 303 in the second round of the NCAA Fall Preview. The Tar Heels' two-day 611 total put them in 16th place going into Sunday's final round. The prestigious event showcases the top finishers in last year's NCAA Championship and is being played at the Country Club of Landfall's Dye Course, the site of the 2010 NCAA Championships.
Carolina Golfers 17th At NCAA Fall Preview
Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:34:43 -0500
Complete ResultsThe North Carolina women's golf team fired a 20-over-par 308 in the first round of the NCAA Fall Preview and stands in 17th place. The prestigious event showcases the top finishes in last year's NCAA Championship and is being played at the Country Club of Landfall's Dye Course, the site of the 2010 NCAA Championships.

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