[net.nlang] "woman" as an adjective

tll@druxu.UUCP (01/29/84)

The use of "woman" as an adjective (as in "woman astronaut" and "women
engineers") is interesting in that it is an example in English where the
adjective changes form depending on the number of the noun it modifies.
This, I think, is unfortunate, since one of the nice features of English
is that adjectives do not change form.

Does anyone know why we use "woman" as an adjective instead of "female"?
Is there some nasty connotation associated with "female" of which I'm
not aware?  I have only once heard "man" used as an adjective ("man
nurse") and I thought it sounded pretty stupid.

This usage of "woman" did not originate with the recent feminist
movement (whatever that really means).  The "League of Women Voters" has
been around for a long time, although no dictionary I've checked has
picked up this usage.

Anyway, I have the following questions:

	1) Why do we use "woman" instead of "female"?  Alternately, why
		do we use the word "male" instead of "man"?  (Maybe
		because it's the right word?)
	2) Does anyone know of any other adjectives in English that
		change form in any way (reflecting a change in number,
		case, gender, etc. of the modified noun)?
	3) Does anyone have a dictionary that includes this usage of
		"woman"?

			Tom Laidig
			AT&T Information Systems Laboratories, Denver
			...!ihnp4!druxu!tll

tpkq@charm.UUCP (01/30/84)

The use of the word "woman" as an adjective (or more accurately, an
appositive), far from being a result of the modern feminist movement
(the earliest example of this usage cited by the Oxford English
Dictionary dates from 1300), is rather a reflection of exactly the kind
of prejudice that the feminist movement is fighting against.

The implication hiding behind a phrase like "woman doctor" is that
doctors are men, and that, in the "extraordinary case" of a doctor who is
also a woman, special note must be made of the fact.

Since the fact that women are just as capable as men at being doctors,
welders, astronauts, etc., has been thoroughly demonstrated, and since
women are increasingly entering professions which have been
traditionally male, it is apparent that, in this case, language is
lagging far behind reality, and that this usage of the word "woman" is
reactionary.

amigo2@ihuxq.UUCP (John Hobson) (02/01/84)

I am reminded of Dr. Samuel Johnson's comment upon hearing a woman
preaching:  "It is like a dog walking upon its hind legs.  The
wonder is not that it is done well, rather that it is done at all."

				John Hobson
				AT&T Bell Labs
				Naperville, IL
				(312) 979-7293
				ihnp4!ihuxq!amigo2

grw@fortune.UUCP (Glenn Wichman) (02/06/84)

	I know of one adjective in English which changes form based
    on the gender of the noun which it modifies -- "blond/blonde".
    We stole this from the French, however.

						-Glenn