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man child. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
man child, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
man child in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
man child you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Middle English manchylde, man-chylde (“a male child”), equivalent to man + child.
Noun
man child (plural man children or men children)
- (archaic) A young male human; a boy.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:boy
- Antonyms: girlchild, woman child
c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, , page 135, column 2:Bring forth Men-Children onely: / For thy vndaunted Mettle ſhould compoſe / Nothing but Males.
1891, Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, The Blue Pavilions:"She is dead," he announced, very gravely and simply.
The hunchback shivered. Captain Runacles neither spoke nor stirred in his chair.
"A man-child was born at two o'clock. He is alive: his mother died two hours later."
- (informal, chiefly derogatory) An adult male who is childish or immature.
2004, Glen Macnow, Angelo Cataldi, The Great Philadelphia Sports Debate, Middle Atlantic Press, published 2004, →ISBN, page 161:In the end, Brown said he just couldn't stand another day of trying to run a team with two sets of rules — one for 11 players and the other for the man-child superstar.
Translations
a young male human; a boy
an adult man who is childish or immature
See also