misogynist

Etymology

It is from Ancient Greek μισογύνης (misogúnēs, “woman-hater”) with the suffix -ist added in English.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} The Greek word is formed from the stem of μισέω (miséō, “to hate”), as in the combining form miso-, and γυνή (gunḗ, “woman”),^[2][4][3][1] which Etymonline traces to Proto-Indo-European *gʷén- (“woman”);^[8] Merriam-Webster Unabridged relates it to queen.^[5] Barnhart suggests that misogyny, recorded from 1656, may in part be a back-formation from the earlier misogynist.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A hater of women: 1620, in Swetnam Arraigned.^[2] Barnhart also dates it to 1620,^[6] and Etymonline to the 1610s.^[8]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline defines the early word as one who has an aversion to women in general,^[8] and the Shorter Oxford simply as a hater of women;^[7] the OED, revised in 2002, widens it to anyone who dislikes or is prejudiced against women.^[2] Adjectival use, "characterized by hatred of or prejudice against women", is recorded from 1920,^[2] beside misogynistic, from the early 19th century.^[7] Its opposite, philogyny, is recorded from the 1620s.^[8]

Timeline

• 1620 – a person who hates women.^[2][6]
• 1920 – adjective, hostile to or prejudiced against women.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person who hates, dislikes or is prejudiced against women: Critics called the novelist a misogynist.^[2][5][7]

Adjective

1. Showing hatred of or prejudice against women; misogynistic.^[2]

Word family

• misogynistic

Related words

• misogyny
• philogyny
• queen

Usage notes

Weekley tells of a temperance speaker, unversed in the classics, who declared himself an "uncompromising beerogynist".^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
7. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray