mane
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
the long, thick hair that grows on the neck of animals like horses or male lions.
the long and heavy hair growing about the neck and head of certain mammals, such as the lion or the horse.
Simple“The male lion shook his thick mane as he stood up to roar.”
In context“The groom spent nearly an hour brushing the horse's mane until it shone in the afternoon sun.”
- 02 C1 Advanced
a person's long, thick, or messy hair.
a person's head of hair, especially when remarkably thick, long, or unruly.
Simple“She spent all morning trying to brush her wild mane of curls into place.”
In context“After weeks in the wilderness without a haircut, he returned with a tangled mane that shocked his family.”
- 03 C2 Proficiency
a way of saying 'man' or 'friend' in some specific local accents.
a dialectal or eye-dialect spelling of 'man', typically used as a term of address or to refer to a male individual.
Simple“What's going on, mane? I haven't seen you in weeks.”
In context“The lyrics featured the word 'mane' frequently, reflecting the specific regional dialect of the Southern hip-hop scene.”
UsageCommonly used in African American Vernacular English, particularly in the Southern United States.
Teacher's tipLearners should recognize this as a regional pronunciation of 'man' rather than a separate vocabulary word in standard English.
From Middle English mane, mayne, from Old English manu (“mane”), from Proto-West Germanic manu, from Proto-Germanic manō (“mane”), from Proto-Indo-European mony-, mon- (“neck”). Cognate with Dutch maan, manen (“mane”), German Mähne (“mane”), Danish man (“horse's mane”), Swedish man (“horse's mane”), Icelandic mön (“mane”).
Dialectal rendering of man, as used in African-American Vernacular English.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.