-person
suffix forming nouns
sometimes used instead of -man and -woman or -lady ⇒
chairperson,
salesperson
-man
-person
1
a combining form of person, replacing in existing compound words such paired, sex-specific forms as -man, and -woman, or -er1, and -ess:
chairperson; salesperson; waitperson.
Usage note
The -person compounds are increasingly used, especially in the press, on radio and television, and in government and corporate communications, with the object of avoiding sex discrimination in language. Earlier practice was to use -man as the final element in such compounds regardless of the sex of the person referred to (anchorman; businessman) or to use -woman when referring to a woman (anchorwoman; businesswoman). Some object to these new -person compounds on the grounds that they are awkward or unnecessary, insisting that the equivalent and long-used compounds in -man are generic, not sex-marked. Others reject the -man compounds as discriminatory when applied to women or to persons whose sex is unknown or irrelevant. To resolve the argument, certain terms can be successfully shortened (anchor; chair). See also chairperson, -ess, lady, -man, -woman.
Related Words
- -man
- alderperson
- anchorperson
- assemblyperson
- bellperson
- businessperson
-persona noun suffix used to avoid the specification or implication of sex, as in chairman, salesman; hence chairperson, salesperson.
Usage: The plural forms of words ending with -person can be either -people or -persons, as in linespeople or linespersons.
-person
combining form
- used as a neutral alternative to -man in nouns denoting professional status, a position of authority, etc.表示“…的人”, “负责…的人”, “…员”：
-
chairperson
salesperson
sportsperson
☞ person
-person
Suffix
- a man or woman having a specified role