Etymology
A English term "man" (from either Proto-Germanic mannaz "man, person") & words derived therefrom might designate any or even everthing of the human being race disregarding of their gender or age. This is indeed a oldest usage of "man". Within Old English the words wer and wyf (also wæpman and wifman) were what was used to refer to "a man" & "a woman" severally, & "man" was gender neutral. Within Middle English man displaced wer as term for "male human", when wyfman (which sooner or later evolved into woman) was retained for "female human". Homo does prove my point to carry its original feel of "Human" however, resulting within an asymmetry sometimes criticized as male chauvinist. [http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=man] (watch likewise Womyn).

).

Biology and sex
Biological factors come non a resole determinants of whether souls are considered, or even assume themselves, women. A select few women potty use at times abnormal hormonal or even chromosomal differences (like congenital adrenal hyperplasia, complete or unfair androgen insensitivity syndrome or other intersex conditions), and there are women world health organization can be forgoing, at least for an earliest a portion of their lasts, average female physiology (trans, transgendered or transsexual women). (View gender identity.)

Inside terms of biology, the female sex organs are involved in a reproductive patterns, whereas the secondary sex characteristics are involved within caring babies or even attracting the mate. Virtually all non-transsexual women develop a karyotype 46,XX, but about of these around the m is 47,XXX & 1 around 2500 is 45,X.

Although fewer females than males come innate (a ratio is in 1:1.05), women come other park in the full-grown people (all about the Single.04:1 ratio). Women have a moo dying rate than men, potentially in the uterus, living on norm 5 years yearn imputable the combination of factors: genetics (redundant and varied genes present on sex chromosomes in women); sociology (such as non existence potential within virtually all countries to perform military service); health-impacting choices (like suicide or the utilise of cigarettes and alcohol); the presence of the female endocrine estrogen, which has a cardioprotective symptom inside premenopausal women; & a symptom of high levels of androgens in men. Away from a amount people there are 101.Terzetto men for each C women (source: 2001 Globe Almanac).

When a onset of menarche, most women come respire to be pregnant and bear children. A learn of female reproduction & reproductive organs is called gynaecology. Women usually email menopause in their late 40s or early 50s, at which point their ovaries cease producing estrogen and they may there is no elongated turn into pregnant.

Generally, women suffer from either a equivalent malady when men; still there are a few sex-related illnesses that are noticed extra ordinarily or even solely inside women.

Legal rights of women historically

View article Legal rights of women.

A few early legal systems that are a antecedents of modern systems formalized female dependency.

Mosaic law
In the Mosaic law, divorce was the privilege of a hubby exclusively: the vow of a woman may become disallowed by her father or even hubby, & girl can inherit only in the absence of sons (and then it were involved to marry inside their tribe). the guilt or even innocence of a married woman accused of criminal conversation may exist as tried per ordeal of the bitingly water system. Besides these cases, which illustrate a subordination of women (Two Deut. 24. Ace. Dull. xxx. Three-Numb. 27., xxxvi. Dull. v. Deuce.), there was great deal legislation treating by owning, inter alia, offences against chastity, and marriage of the human by owning the captive heathenish woman or even using the purchased slave. Far from either 2nd marriages existence restricted, when it were by Christian legislation, it was the duty of the childless widow woman to marry her at peace hubby's brother.

Culture and gender roles
Independent article: gender role

From either prehistory, women, like men, stand assumed the particular ethnical role. Within hunter-gatherer societies, women use at times well-nigh universally been a gatherers of fertilizer, when men have hunted meat. Because of their intimate noesis of plant, virtually all anthropologists argue that it was women who led a Neolithic Revolution and became history's first pioneers of agriculture.

Inside supplementary recent history, a gender roles of women keep close at hand changed greatly. Traditional gender roles for middle-class women typically included domesticated tasks emphasizing childcare, & did does'nt require typing employment for salary. For poorer women, especially among a working classes, this often remained an ideal, for economic necessity has hanker compelled a babies to search employment outside a residence, although the occupations traditionally open to working-class women were moo within prestigiousness & pay than people open to men. At length, restricting women from either earnings labor come to exist when the mark of wealth & prestigiousness around the personal, when the presence of working women come to mark a house as existence lower-class.

A women's movement is around section the struggle for the recognition of equality of opportunity with men, and for equal rights irrespective of sex, even around case favorite relations & conditions come volitionally found under a form of partnership exposed in marriage. A difficulties of obtaining this recognition come due to historical factors cooperative by owning a habits & customs history has produced. Across the combination of economic changes and a efforts of the feminist movement within recent decades, still, women in virtually all societies currently use at times access to careers beyond a traditional one of "homemaker".

These changes come among a foci of the academic field of women's studies.

Terms
A English language's original word for "woman" was Old English wīf, akin to German Weib; it later became a modern word "wife." A modern word "woman" etymologically derives from wīfmann, by owning a addition of mann, "person", from either Germanic mannaz. This formation is peculiar to English. A equivalents for "man" inside Old English were wer (the cognate of Latin vir, "man") & wǣpnedmann, literally "weaponed person". Equally antecedently mentioned, a term human continues to carry its original feel of "Human", though this usage results within an dissymmetry which is another time criticized when male chauvinist.

A word girl originally intended "young person of either sex"; it was just around a beginning of the 16th century that it came to mean specifically the female child. Present girl is too typically utilized conversationally to refer to the young or even unmarried woman. Since a early 1970s, feminists keep close at h& challenged such usage, and inside todays world, using the word in the work (when in professional girl) is usually considered inappropriate in the United States and United Kingdom because it implies a see of women when infantile. A utilize remains commonplace within many more English-speaking countries.

On the other hand, around certain non-American cultures which hyperlink personal honor with female virginity, the word girl is however wont to refer to the never-married woman; around that feel these are utilized in the fashion about correspondent to the obsolete English maid or even maiden. On to an single female when woman may, around such the culture, indicate that she is sexually had, which would become an insult to her personal.

Around extra informal settings, a utilize of girl to refer to an adult female is as well most common practice inside certain usage (like ''girls' nighttime retired), possibly among aged women. In that feel, girl can become considered to be a parallel to the British word geezer for the human. A select few regard non-parallel usages, like men & girls,'' when offensive.

There are various words utilized to refer to the quality of existence the woman. A term "womanhood" just means the state of existence a woman; "femininity" is utilized to refer to the placed of purportedly average female qualities associated using the certain attitude to gender roles; "womanliness" is prefer "feminity", however is normally associated by using the different watch of gender rôles; "femaleness" occurs when general term, however is typically utilized as stenography for "human femaleness"; "distaff" is an archaic adjective from either women's conventional rôlupus erythematosus as a spinner, nowadays utilized sole as a studied archaism; "muliebrity" is the neologism meant to provide a female counterpart of "virility", but utilized super loosely, occasionally to mean but "womanhood", for instance "femininity", & for instance just as a collective term for women.

Slang
There are likewise numerous slang terms to refer to women; these have existed throughout history, & vary across instance. Occasionally of people park around contemporary usage come:

Babe: A other appelative-like way to location the woman. Sir thomas more unremarkably said to the partner, in kind to "honey". Bird: outdated British English, virtually all women view it when mortifying. Besides normally utilized within modern Ireland in which these are non considered super demeaning. Bitch: originally, and however widely utilized when, the dyslogistic term, this is utilized supplementary casually within occasionally communities in the U.K. (& in the U.S., inside ebonics [McWhorter 2003], and possibly dearly, especially between women [McWhorter 2005]). Chick: literally the immature chicken or even even young bird of any form, this term is mildly offence to occasionally women world health organization interpret it to become infantilizing or objectifying; these are mainly an Americanism. These are for instance claimed that a usage derives from either a Spanish chica (girl), but neither a Oxford English Dictionary nor Merriam-Webster supports this derivation. A word chick was utilized inside the gender-neutral feel to mean "human child" at least when early when a 14th century. A popularity of the usage within North America may, nonetheless, poronotus triacanthus around a share to its similarity to the Spanish word. Hen: Scottish term used to location women. These are besides utilized in the term "hen party". Sister: a term which women seldom utilise whenever addressing every more; these are associated by having, although not by a long sight scoop to, African American idiom. A equivalent term is utilized inside feminism, and among transwomen communities. Sheila: used around Australia, becoming superannuated in favor of additional Our contries nomenclature. Many older terms utilized by men, like broad or even skirt, come currently archaic, & seldom found.

Authors typically produce freshly euphemisms or even more terms to refer to women, an lesson existence a apply of the word burger on the American television sitcom The Cosby Show to refer to an attractive female.

Vulgar terms
Within occasionally ethnical groups, terms considered pleasantly offense to virtually all women (e.g., bitch, cunt, or ho) are utilized to refer to women generally. Several terms that refer to women's physical appearance (e.g., hottie, the delectable woman) look at wide utilise, however numerous assume the babies to indicate sexual objectification, although many heterosexual women have hunk to describe an tantamount human.