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From: mfs@mhuxr.UUCP (SIMON)
Newsgroups: net.nlang,net.women
Subject: Re: Gender-specific neuter pronouns
Message-ID: <223@mhuxr.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 30-Jan-85 08:57:01 EST
Article-I.D.: mhuxr.223
Posted: Wed Jan 30 08:57:01 1985
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> > 
> > Note, however, that "homo" is the Latin noun for "human", and not for
> > "male human".  English speakers tend to forget this vocabulary distinction,
> > since our word "man" means both.  The Latin for "man" meaning "male human" is
> > "vir".
> 
> There is good reason to believe that "homo" came to mean "male human" 
> after the Classical period and before Latin diverged into the separate
> Romance languages since the modern Romance languages' each have their
> word for "male human" derived from "homo". In none of the modern Romance
> languages that I know did "vir" take a hold.
> -- 
> Rob Bernardo, Pacific Bell, San Francisco, California

"Homo" is also the Greek root meaning "same", which leads to things like
"homogeneous". This means that saying "lesbians are female homosexuals"
is perfectly valid. As for "vir", there is "virile" (French and English),
"virtue" (Sexist, I know).....

Marcel Simon