Miscellaneous

Patricia O?Conner has written an interesting post on the Grammarphobia Blog debunking myths about the history of English words used to refer to the sexes. For instance:

• The use of masculine pronouns (he, him, his) to refer to both sexes is a relatively recent innovation, getting its start in the mid-18th century. Before then, it was acceptable to use they, them, their, and theirs as singular pronouns for either sex.
• Female and male are not related etymologically.
• Woman is not derived from man. Neither is human. These words, like male and female, are unrelated etymologically.