Maðr
/ˈmɑðr̩/noun
An Old Norse noun meaning a person, human being, or man.
Did you know?Old Norse *maðr* is the ancestor of modern English “man,” while the rune ᛗ, *mannaz*, represented humanity, the self, and the human mind.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*mon- / *man-
“A reconstructed root associated with thinking, mind, or a human being; its exact original meaning is debated.”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*mann-
“A human being or person.”
Runic Germanic
Runic
ᛗ *mannaz
“The rune-name meaning human being or person, later linked symbolically with humanity and the self.”
8th–11th Century
Old Norse
maðr
“A person, human being, or man; the letter ð represented a voiced dental fricative.”
Middle English
English
man
“A human being or adult male; the form developed through sound changes from earlier Germanic forms.”
Modern English
English
man
“An adult male human being, and in some contexts a human being generally.”