men

men

See also: Appendix:Variations of "men"

Translingual

Symbol

men

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Mende.

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English

Etymology

From Middle English men, from Old English menn (“people”), from Proto-Germanic *manniz, nominative plural of Proto-Germanic *mann- (“person”). Cognate with German Männer (“men”), Danish mænd (“men”), Swedish män (“men”). More at man.

Pronunciation

A group of men sitting together.

• IPA^(key): /mɛn/,

  Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛn
  • (pin–pen merger) IPA^(key): /mɪn/
  • Rhymes: -ɪn
  • Homophone: min

Noun

men

1. plural of man
   • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, OCLC 639762314:

     This new-comer was a man who in any company would have seemed striking. […] Indeed, all his features were in large mold, like the man himself, as though he had come from a day when skin garments made the proper garb of men.

Noun

men pl (plural only)

1. (collective) (The) people, humanity, man(kind).
   • 1776, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America:

     We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

2. (collective, military) enlisted personnel (as opposed to commissioned officers).

   "Muster up the men in the barracks at 0600," the lieutenant said to his sergeant.

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:men.

Derived terms

• man among men
• menkind
• menfolk

Related terms

• mennish

Translations

human people

Arabic: نَاس‎ m pl (nās) Catalan: homes (ca) m pl Chinese: Mandarin: 人們／人们 (zh) (rénmen), 人 (zh) (rén) Czech: lidé (cs) m pl Dutch: mensen (nl) m pl, men (collective singular) Esperanto: homoj (eo) French: gens (fr) m pl, hommes (fr) m pl, on (fr) German: Menschen (de) m pl, Leute (de) m pl Greek: άνθρωπος (el) m (ánthropos) Hindi: लोग (hi) pl (log) Italian: genti (it) m pl Japanese: 人々 (ja) (ひとびと, hitobito) Korean: 사람들 (saramdeul) Latin: homines m pl Macedonian: луѓе (luǵe) Maricopa: 'iipash Polish: ludzie (pl) m pers pl Portuguese: homens (pt) m pl Romanian: oameni (ro) m pl Russian: лю́ди (ru) m pl (ljúdi) Slovak: ľudia (sk) m pl Somali: rag Urdu: لوگ‎ pl (log) Uzbek: kishilar

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Basque

Noun

men

1. A command

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Chuukese

Adverb

men

1. softer form of fakkun (“very”)

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Crimean Tatar

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *ben (“I”). Compare Turkish ben (“I”).

Pronoun

men (plural biz, possessive adjective menim)

1. (personal) I (first-person singular)

Inflection

object	me: maña
reflexive	myself: özüm
possessive	mine, my: menim

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Danish

Etymology 1

From Old Norse mein, from Proto-Germanic *mainą (“damage, hurt, injustice, sin”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /meːn/, [meːˀn]

Noun

men or mén n or c (singular definite menet or menen, plural indefinite men, plural definite menene)

1. injury

Etymology 2

Same origin as Old Norse meðan (“while”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɛn/, [men]

Conjunction

men

1. but
2. (as a noun) but, catch, hitch, snag

   Jeg kan høre, der er et men.

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɛn/, /mə(n)/
• Hyphenation: men
• Rhymes: -ɛn, -ən

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch men, an unstressed variety of man (“man”). Accordingly, originally pronounced with [ə]; now predominantly with a full vowel [ɛ], especially in those areas where the word is chiefly literary. Compare German man, Middle English men (indefinite pronoun).

Pronoun

men

1. (indefinite, subject) One, you, they, everyone; humanity, (the) people, the public opinion

   Men zegt dat... ― People say that.... It is said that...

   Men weet nooit wat er gaat gebeuren. ― You never know what’s going to happen.

Usage notes

• When not used as a subject, men must be replaced with je (“you”) or sometimes ze (“them”).
• The word as such is very common in Limburg and some other areas, where it is part of the local dialects. Elsewhere it is not downright rare but perceived as formal and predominantly replaced with je and ze even as a subject (similarly to English one).

Related terms

• iemand
• niemand

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

men

1. first-person singular present indicative of mennen
2. imperative of mennen

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Faroese

Etymology 1

See møna

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [meːn] (noun)
• IPA^(key): [mɛnː] (conjunction)

  Homophone: menn

Noun

men f (genitive singular menar, plural menir or menar)

1. (rare, Mykines) The spinal cord

Declension

Declension of men
f2	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	men	menin	menir	menirnar
accusative	men	menina	menir	menirnar
dative	men	menini	menum	menunum
genitive	menar	menarinnar	mena	menanna

f6	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	men	menin	menar	menarnar
Accusative	men	menina	menar	menarnar
Dative	men	menini	menum	menunum
Genitive	menar	menarinnar	mena	menanna

Synonyms

• (common) møna

Etymology 2

From Danish men derived from Old Norse meðan (“while”).

Conjunction

men

1. but

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Fula

Pronoun

men

1. first person plural exclusive;short form we, us

Usage notes

• Used in Pular.

Dialectal variants

• min (Pulaar, Adamawa, Dageeja, Fouta-toro, Liptaako, Sokoto, Zaria, Gombe)

See also

• enen
• menen
• meɗen
• hiɗen

References

• Oumar Bah, Dictionnaire Pular-Français, Avec un index français-pular, Webonary.org, SIL International, 2014.
• Ritsuko Miyamoto (1993), “A Study of Fula Dialects : Examining the Continuous/Stative Constructions”, in Senri Ethnological Studies‎, volume 35, DOI:10.15021/00003067, pages 215-230

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Haitian Creole

Etymology 1

From French main (“hand”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɜ̃/

Noun

men

1. hand

Etymology 2

From French mais (“but”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɜ̃/

Conjunction

men

1. but

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Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse men, from Proto-Germanic *manją. Compare Old English mene.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɛːn/
• Rhymes: -ɛːn

Noun

men n (genitive singular mens, nominative plural men)

1. necklace, especially one with a pendant

Declension

declension of men

n-s	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	men	menið	men	menin
accusative	men	menið	men	menin
dative	meni	meninu	menum	menunum
genitive	mens	mensins	mena	menanna

Derived terms

• hálsmen (“pendant necklace”)

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Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmen/
• Rhymes: -en
• Hyphenation: mén

Adverb

men (apocopated)

1. Apocopic form of meno

Contraction

men

1. (literary, archaic) Contraction of me ne.
   • 1723, Anton Maria Salvini, transl., Iliade [Iliad]‎, Milan: Giovanni Gaetano Tartini, Santi Franchi, translation of Ἰλιάς (Iliás) by Homer, Book I, page 9:

     Men vo alle navi, appo aver fatte in guerra ¶ ben gravi, e dure, e faticose imprese

     I return to the ships, after grave, hard and laborious war endeavours

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Japanese

Romanization

men

1. Rōmaji transcription of めん

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Louisiana Creole French

Etymology

From French main (“hand”).

Noun

men

1. hand

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Macaguán

Noun

men

1. water
2. river

References

• Edgar Buenaventura, Observaciones preliminares acerca del idioma macaguán: Apuntes culturales, fonología, apuntes gramaticales, vocabulário macaguán – español (1993)

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Mandarin

Romanization

men (men⁵ / men⁰, Zhuyin ˙ㄇㄣ)

1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 們／们, 们.

men

1. Nonstandard spelling of mēn.
2. Nonstandard spelling of mén.
3. Nonstandard spelling of mèn.

Usage notes

• English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

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Middle Dutch

Etymology

An unstressed variety of man.

Pronoun

men

1. someone
2. one, they, you, people; impersonal pronoun.

Inflection

This pronoun needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

• Dutch: men
• Limburgish: me

Further reading

• “men”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929), “men (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page I

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Middle English

Pronoun

men

1. Alternative form of man (“one, you”)

Etymology 2

From Old English menn, plural of mann, from Proto-Germanic *manniz, plural of *mann-.

Noun

men

1. plural of mon (“man”)

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Mòcheno

Etymology

An unstressed pronunciation of mònn (“man”). Compare German man, Dutch men for a similar construct.

Pronoun

men

1. one, you (indefinite pronoun)

   Bou mu men parkiarn? ― Where can you park?

References

• “men” in Cimbrian, Ladin, Mòcheno: Getting to know 3 peoples. 2015. Servizio minoranze linguistiche locali della Provincia autonoma di Trento, Trento, Italy.

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Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

Via Swedish and Danish men, same origin as Old Norse meðan (“while”).

Conjunction

men

1. But, however; introducing a clause that contrasts with the preceding clause, sentence or common belief.
2. though
3. only

   Han er en fin kar, men han snakker litt for mye. – He is a nice guy, but he talks a bit too much.

Etymology 2

From Old Norse mein.

Alternative forms

• mein

Noun

men

1. damage; injury (also mén)
2. permanent disability
3. difficulty; drawback

Verb

men

1. imperative of mene

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɛnː/
• Homophone: menn

Etymology 1

Via Swedish and Danish men, same origin as Old Norse meðan (“while”).

Conjunction

men

1. but, however; introducing a clause that contrasts with the preceding clause, sentence or common belief.
2. though
3. only

Etymology 2

From men.

Noun

men n (definite singular menet, uncountable)

1. difficulty

References

• “men” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *manją. Cognate with Old English mene.

Noun

men n (genitive mens, plural men)

1. necklace

Declension

  Declension of men (strong ja-stem)

neuter	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	men	menit	men	menin
accusative	men	menit	men	menin
dative	meni	meninu	menjum	menjunum
genitive	mens	mensins	menja	menjanna

Derived terms

• Brísingamen
• menglǫtuðr (“ring-destroyer; kenning for a wealthy ruler”)

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Pohnpeian

Verb

men

1. to want

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Salar

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *ben.

Pronoun

men

1. First singular personal pronoun; I.

Declension

declension of men

	singular	plural
nominative	men	piser
genitive	miniği	piserniği
dative	maña	pisere
definite accusative	mini	piserni
locative	mende	piserde
ablative	menden	piserden

See also

Salar personal pronouns

	singular	plural
1st person	men	piser
2nd person	sen	seler
3rd person	u	ular

References

• Tenishev, Edhem (1976), “men”, in Stroj salárskovo jazyká [Grammar of Salar], Moscow, page 224
• 林 (Lin), 莲云 (Lianyun) (1985), “men”, in 撒拉语简志 [A Brief History of Salar], Beijing: 民族出版社: 琴書店, OCLC 17467570, page 53
• 马伟 (Ma Wei), 朝克 (Chao Ke) (2014), “men”, in 撒拉语366条会话读本 [Salar 366 Conversation Reader], 1st edition, 社会科学文献出版社 (Social Science Literature Press), →ISBN, page 111

• Ma, Chengjun; Han, Lianye; Ma, Weisheng (December 2010), “men”, in 米娜瓦尔 艾比布拉 (Minavar Abibra), editor, 撒维汉词典 (Sāwéihàncídiǎn) [Salar-Uyghur-Chinese dictionary], 1st edition, Beijing, →ISBN, page 180
• 张, 进锋 (Ayso Cañ Cinfen) (2008), 乌璐别格 (Ulubeğ), 鄭初陽 (Çuyañ Yebey oğlı Ceñ), editors, Salar İbret Sözler 撒拉尔谚语 [Salar Proverbs]‎, China Salar Youth League, page 43

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Sherbro

Noun

men (plural menti)

1. (chiefly in the plural) water

References

• James Frederick Schön, James Frederick Schön, Sherbro Vocabulary (1839), page 24

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Spanish

Noun

men m pl

1. plural of man
2. (Peru, colloquial) dude

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Sumerian

Romanization

men

1. Romanization of 𒃞 (men)

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Swedish

Etymology 1

From Old Swedish men, from Middle Low German men, man (“but, only”), probably from Old Saxon niwan; possibly under the influence of Old Swedish men (“while, during”) (modern Swedish medan, medans, mens). Cognate with modern Low German man.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɛn/

• audio

  (file)

Conjunction

men

1. but; introducing a clause that contrasts with the preceding clause, sentence or common belief.
2. yet, but, however

   John har bott i staden i fem år, men aldrig besökt slottet.

   John has lived in the city for five years, yet never visited the castle.

Etymology 2

From Old Norse mein, cognate with Icelandic mein, Norwegian mein, Old Saxon mēn, Old English mān; cognate with Icelandic meinn (“which causes injury”), Old English mǣne (“evil, deceptive”, adj), Lithuanian maĭnas (“change”, noun), Proto-Slavic *měna (“change”, noun); from the Proto-Indo-European root *mei- (“to switch”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /meːn/

Noun

men n

1. a handicap, long-time remnant of a physical or mental injury, which affects a person negatively

Declension

Declension of men
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	men	menet	men	menen
Genitive	mens	menets	mens	menens

Related terms

• menlös

See also

• lyte och men

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Turkmen

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *ben (“I”). Compare Turkish ben (“I”).

Pronoun

men

1. (personal) I

Declension

Declension of men

	singular	plural
nominative	men	biz
accusative	meni	bizi
genitive	meniň	biziň
dative	maňa	bize
locative	mende	bizde
ablative	menden	bizden

See also

Turkmen personal pronouns

		Nominative	Accusative	Genitive	Dative	Locative	Ablative
singular	1st person	men	meni	meniň	maňa	mende	menden
	2nd person	sen	seni	seniň	saňa	sende	senden
	3rd person	ol	ony	onuň	oňa	onda	ondan
plural	1st person	biz	bizi	biziň	bize	bizde	bizden
	2nd person	siz	sizi	siziň	size	sizde	sizden
	3rd person	olar	olary	olaryň	olara	olarda	olardan

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Uyghur

Pronoun

men

1. Latin (ULY) transcription of مەن‎ (men)

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Uzbek

Other scripts
Cyrillic	мен (men)‍
Latin	men‍
Perso-Arabic

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *ben (“I”).

Pronoun

men

1. (personal) I

Declension

Declension of men

	singular	plural
nominative	men	menlar
genitive	menning	menlarning
dative	menga	menlarga
definite accusative	menni	menlarni
locative	menda	menlarda
ablative	mendan	menlardan

Possessive forms of men

my	singular	plural
nominative	menim	menlarim
genitive	menimning	menlarimning
dative	menimga	menlarimga
definite accusative	menimni	menlarimni
locative	menimda	menlarimda
ablative	menimdan	menlarimdan
your	singular	plural
nominative	mening	menlaring
genitive	meningning	menlaringning
dative	meningga	menlaringga
definite accusative	meningni	menlaringni
locative	meningda	menlaringda
ablative	meningdan	menlaringdan
her/his/its	singular	plural
nominative	meni	menlari
genitive	menining	menlarining
dative	meniga	menlariga
definite accusative	menini	menlarini
locative	menida	menlarida
ablative	menidan	menlaridan
our	singular	plural
nominative	menimiz	menlarimiz
genitive	menimizning	menlarimizning
dative	menimizga	menlarimizga
definite accusative	menimizni	menlarimizni
locative	menimizda	menlarimizda
ablative	menimizdan	menlarimizdan
your	singular	plural
nominative	meningiz	menlaringiz
genitive	meningizning	menlaringizning
dative	meningizga	menlaringizga
definite accusative	meningizni	menlaringizni
locative	meningizda	menlaringizda
ablative	meningizdan	menlaringizdan
their	singular	plural
nominative	meni	menlari
genitive	menining	menlarining
dative	meniga	menlariga
definite accusative	menini	menlarini
locative	menida	menlarida
ablative	menidan	menlaridan

See also

Uzbek personal pronouns

		Nominative	Accusative	Genitive	Dative	Locative	Ablative
singular	1st person	men	meni	mening	menga	menda	mendan
	2nd person	sen	seni	sening	senga	senda	sendan
	3rd person	u	uni	uning	unga	unda	undan
plural	1st person	biz	bizni	bizning	bizga	bizda	bizdan
	2nd person	siz	sizni	sizning	sizga	sizda	sizdan
	3rd person	ular	ularni	ularning	ularga	ularda	ulardan

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Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [mɛn˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [mɛŋ˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [mɛŋ˧˧]

Etymology 1

From Proto-Vietic *-mɛːn.

Noun

men • (𥽔, 𥾃)

1. yeast
2. (biochemistry) enzyme
3. alcohol (in terms of its euphorigenic or intoxicating effects)

Noun

men

1. enamel
2. (ceramics) glaze

Verb

men

1. to approach, to go along

Derived terms

Derived terms

• men theo
• mon men

 

Anagrams

• nem

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Volapük

Etymology

From German Mann and English man, both from Proto-Germanic *mann-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /men/

Noun

men

1. man (male or female), human, human being

Declension

declension of men

	singular	plural
nominative	men	mens
genitive	mena	menas
dative	mene	menes
accusative	meni	menis
vocative 1	o men!	o mens!
predicative 2	menu	menus

• ¹ status as a case is disputed
• ² in later, non-classical Volapük only

Hyponyms

• cil (“child”)
• himen (“male human”)
• jimen (“female human”)

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Wutunhua

Etymology

From Mandarin 門／门.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [mə̃]

Noun

men

1. door

   men kai-di-li.

   The door is kept open.

   (Quoted in Sandman, p. 182)

References

• Juha Janhunen, Marja Peltomaa, Erika Sandman, Xiawu Dongzhou (2008) Wutun (LINCOM's Descriptive Grammar Series), volume 466, LINCOM Europa, →ISBN
• Erika Sandman (2016) A Grammar of Wutun‎, University of Helsinki (PhD), →ISBN