Hussy: Eight words that reveal the sexism at the heart of Oxford Dictionaries

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Eight words that reveal the sexism at the heart of the English language | David Shariatmadari

As Oxford Dictionaries comes under fire for sexist definitions, the history of terms that refer to women shows how deep negative attitudes go

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"What do you think of when I say the word 'rabid'? One option, according to the dictionary publisher Oxford Dictionaries, is 'feminist'. The publisher has been criticised for a sexist bias in its illustrations of how certain words are used. 'Nagging' is followed by 'wife'. 'Grating' and 'shrill' appear in sentences describing women’s voices, not men’s"

"Language, as the medium through which we conduct almost all relationships, public and private, bears the precise imprint of our cultural attitudes. When it comes to women, the message is a depressing one."

Hussy:

"This once neutral term meant the female head of a household. Hussy is a contraction of 13th-century husewif – a word cognate with modern “housewife”. From the 17th century onwards, however, it began to mean “a disreputable woman of improper behaviour”. That’s now its only meaning."