The English Oracle

Origin of the usage of "Man" as a word of exclamation

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Track title: CC B Schuberts Piano Sonata No 16 D

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Chapters
00:00 Origin Of The Usage Of &Quot;Man&Quot; As A Word Of Exclamation
00:18 Accepted Answer Score 5
00:40 Thank you

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ACCEPTED ANSWER

Score 5


It started as a generic vocative expression, like calling somebody "buddy" today -- the word meant "person", the sense of "adult male" came later. According to the OED, it started to switch over to being a more general interjection about 1823.