USAGE: WOMYN (was: RE: [CONLANG] Optimum number of symbols,

And Rosta scripsit:

> Indeed, for
> this reason it is tempting to analyse "woman" as cranberry morph
> "wo-" + morpheme "man". I reckon that is how most speakers perceive
> things too, and likewise for "male:female".
Indeed, for the latter there is solid phonological evidence that it
is fe+male.  Its origin is OF femelle [fEmEl@] < FEMINA + dim., and it
surely would be pronounced [fEm@l] if English-speakers had not long ago
reinterpreted it as containing "male".

--
John Cowan <jcowan@...>     http://www.reutershealth.com
I amar prestar aen, han mathon ne nen,    http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
han mathon ne chae, a han noston ne 'wilith.  --Galadriel, _LOTR:FOTR_