Ho, ho John....but, woe is me, await the arrival of the Valkyries, in retaliation ;-)

"man" originally meant "adult human being of either gender". The distinction was made, in Old Germanic, between a gom-man (male) and a wif-man (female).

Men were originally "gooms". A "bridegroom", for instance, was originally called a "brideGOOM" (a bride's man). Once the word "goom" had disappeared from the language, the letter "r" was added by analogy with the word "groom".

Eeh, bah goom - it's true, lad (or, should I say, goom) !

- jeanie