mane

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English mane,^[2][3] inherited from Old English manu (“mane of a horse”),^[4][3][5][6] from Proto-Germanic *manō (“mane, neck”),^[7][5][6][8] also the source of Old Frisian mana, Middle Dutch mane, Dutch manen (plural), Old High German mana, German Mähne and Old Norse mǫn.^[9][6][4][7] The Scandinavian languages also have forms in -k-: Danish manke is a mane, Swedish manke the withers.^[9][4] It is related to mene (“necklace”).^[6][10][11] The OED takes it ultimately from an Indo-European base meaning "(nape of the) neck", seen in Welsh mwn (“neck”) and Old Irish muin (“neck, upper back”); forms with a -k-, such as mwng (“mane”), are closest in sense, and other forms of the base gave Latin monīle (“necklace”).^[9][4][12] Etymonline reconstructs Proto-Indo-European *mon- (“neck, nape of the neck”).^[4] Ayto concludes that "neck" was the first meaning and "neck hair" a later one;^[8] he, Klein and the OED mention a possible link with the base meaning "to project", the source of eminent and prominent.^[8][12][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The long hair on the neck of a horse: Old English manu, recorded before 800,^[6] first in the Erfurt Glossary.^[9] In Middle English it is found probably before 1300, in Kyng Alisaunder,^[6] and about 1380 in Sir Ferumbras.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The OED's main sense covers the horse, the lion and similar growths on other animals.^[9][4] It was used of a person's long hair from about 1480,^[9] or from the late 14th century in Etymonline's dating.^[4] Figurative use is recorded from 1581.^[9] It was also used for a ridge of grass or stubble left by the mowers (about 1523 to 1840) and for the hackles of a gamecock (1614–1891).^[9] Johnson (1755) gave a Dutch origin and defined it as the hair hanging down on the neck of horses and other animals.^[13] In Fife, to make neither mane nor tail of something was to make neither head nor tail of it, and Somerset had the mane-comb for horses.^[14]

Timeline

• before 800 – manu, the mane of a horse.^[6][9]
• c. 1380 – mane, of a horse.^[2]
• c. 1480 – a person's long hair.^[9]
• c. 1523 – a ridge of grass left by mowers (obsolete by 1840).^[9]
• 1581 – figurative use.^[9]
• 1614 – the hackles of a cock (obsolete by 1891).^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. The long, heavy hair growing along the neck of a horse, lion or similar animal.^[11][10][9]
2. A person's long, thick hair: She tied back her mane of red hair.^[11][10][9]

Word family

• maned
• maneless
• unmaned

Related words

• eminent
• prominent

Usage notes

A rarer mane has a separate source, Latin māne (“in the morning”), and is used in prescriptions for "in the morning".^[10][9]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
7. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
8. ^ a b c Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
11. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
12. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
13. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
14. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)