First 'white man' and 'white men'
What is the earliest printed use in English, including relevant context, of 'white man' or 'white men'? As nearly as I have been able to discover, the term is first found in print in these contexts:
'white men' appeared first in John of Trevisa's translation of Angelicus Bartholomaeus's De proprietatibus rerum. Dates are uncertain, but OED dates the translation to sometime before 1398. The composition date of the original work in Latin was probably sometime before 1240. As published in 1582, the context clearly ascribes the color of people's skin to climate and geographical place of birth:
Also colde is the mother of whitenesse and of palenesse, as heate is the mother of rednesse and of blacknesse. And so in hot Countryes blacke men and browne bée borne, as among the Moores. In colde Countryes white men bée borne. Wherby we may see howe vainely mankynde wandereth in his owne blynd∣nesse. The Ethiopian thincketh the blacke colour to be fayrer then the white: And the white man thinketh otherwise.
'white man' also shows up first in a translation from Latin. The translation of Peter Martyr of Angleria's The decades of the newe worlde or west India conteynyng the nauigations and conquestes of the Spanyardes by Rycharde Eden, published in 1555 but presumably written prior to the author's death in 1526, also presumes upon the name of a geographic location ("Ethiopia" at the time, however, was used in a broader sense than it is now) used in a sense associating skin color with that location (a "black or dark-skinned person", OED paywalled):
Wherby we may see howe vainely mankynde wandereth in his owne blyndnesse. The Ethiopian thincketh the blacke colour to be fayrer then the white: And the white man thinketh otherwise.
My research queried only the orthographic forms shown in the question; information on other, earlier forms would be welcome.
After having the original question closed as "too broad", I split it into three questions, White Noises, Person or People, Man or Men, Woman or Women, and posted them separately. This is one of those.
etymology racism
asked 2 days ago
JELJEL
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What is the earliest printed use in English, including relevant context, of 'white man' or 'white men'? As nearly as I have been able to discover, the term is first found in print in these contexts:
'white men' appeared first in John of Trevisa's translation of Angelicus Bartholomaeus's De proprietatibus rerum. Dates are uncertain, but OED dates the translation to sometime before 1398. The composition date of the original work in Latin was probably sometime before 1240. As published in 1582, the context clearly ascribes the color of people's skin to climate and geographical place of birth:
Also colde is the mother of whitenesse and of palenesse, as heate is the mother of rednesse and of blacknesse. And so in hot Countryes blacke men and browne bée borne, as among the Moores. In colde Countryes white men bée borne. Wherby we may see howe vainely mankynde wandereth in his owne blynd∣nesse. The Ethiopian thincketh the blacke colour to be fayrer then the white: And the white man thinketh otherwise.
'white man' also shows up first in a translation from Latin. The translation of Peter Martyr of Angleria's The decades of the newe worlde or west India conteynyng the nauigations and conquestes of the Spanyardes by Rycharde Eden, published in 1555 but presumably written prior to the author's death in 1526, also presumes upon the name of a geographic location ("Ethiopia" at the time, however, was used in a broader sense than it is now) used in a sense associating skin color with that location (a "black or dark-skinned person", OED paywalled):
Wherby we may see howe vainely mankynde wandereth in his owne blyndnesse. The Ethiopian thincketh the blacke colour to be fayrer then the white: And the white man thinketh otherwise.
My research queried only the orthographic forms shown in the question; information on other, earlier forms would be welcome.
After having the original question closed as "too broad", I split it into three questions, White Noises, Person or People, Man or Men, Woman or Women, and posted them separately. This is one of those.
etymology racism
asked 2 days ago
JELJEL
27.6k45293
This question has an open bounty worth +100
reputation from JEL ending in 6 days.
This question has not received enough attention.
1
I would have shortened the question and posted the results of your research as an answer. That might have got the ball rolling so to speak.
– Mari-Lou A
18 hours ago
1
I would mention in the post: you were informed that your original question was too broad so that is why you have split it into three parts.
– Mari-Lou A
18 hours ago
1
Also, please update the question titles. They are all identical but the questions are not. This one has nothing to do with white noise, for example.
– Andrew Leach♦
16 hours ago
1
White noise has a specific meaning
– Andrew Leach♦
16 hours ago
1
No, it doesn't. You are forcing a specific meaning on to a phrase that already has one.
– Andrew Leach♦
16 hours ago
|
show 7 more comments
What is the earliest printed use in English, including relevant context, of 'white man' or 'white men'? As nearly as I have been able to discover, the term is first found in print in these contexts:
'white men' appeared first in John of Trevisa's translation of Angelicus Bartholomaeus's De proprietatibus rerum. Dates are uncertain, but OED dates the translation to sometime before 1398. The composition date of the original work in Latin was probably sometime before 1240. As published in 1582, the context clearly ascribes the color of people's skin to climate and geographical place of birth:
Also colde is the mother of whitenesse and of palenesse, as heate is the mother of rednesse and of blacknesse. And so in hot Countryes blacke men and browne bée borne, as among the Moores. In colde Countryes white men bée borne. Wherby we may see howe vainely mankynde wandereth in his owne blynd∣nesse. The Ethiopian thincketh the blacke colour to be fayrer then the white: And the white man thinketh otherwise.
'white man' also shows up first in a translation from Latin. The translation of Peter Martyr of Angleria's The decades of the newe worlde or west India conteynyng the nauigations and conquestes of the Spanyardes by Rycharde Eden, published in 1555 but presumably written prior to the author's death in 1526, also presumes upon the name of a geographic location ("Ethiopia" at the time, however, was used in a broader sense than it is now) used in a sense associating skin color with that location (a "black or dark-skinned person", OED paywalled):
Wherby we may see howe vainely mankynde wandereth in his owne blyndnesse. The Ethiopian thincketh the blacke colour to be fayrer then the white: And the white man thinketh otherwise.
My research queried only the orthographic forms shown in the question; information on other, earlier forms would be welcome.
After having the original question closed as "too broad", I split it into three questions, White Noises, Person or People, Man or Men, Woman or Women, and posted them separately. This is one of those.
etymology racism
asked 2 days ago
JELJEL
27.6k45293
What is the earliest printed use in English, including relevant context, of 'white man' or 'white men'? As nearly as I have been able to discover, the term is first found in print in these contexts:
'white men' appeared first in John of Trevisa's translation of Angelicus Bartholomaeus's De proprietatibus rerum. Dates are uncertain, but OED dates the translation to sometime before 1398. The composition date of the original work in Latin was probably sometime before 1240. As published in 1582, the context clearly ascribes the color of people's skin to climate and geographical place of birth:
Also colde is the mother of whitenesse and of palenesse, as heate is the mother of rednesse and of blacknesse. And so in hot Countryes blacke men and browne bée borne, as among the Moores. In colde Countryes white men bée borne. Wherby we may see howe vainely mankynde wandereth in his owne blynd∣nesse. The Ethiopian thincketh the blacke colour to be fayrer then the white: And the white man thinketh otherwise.
'white man' also shows up first in a translation from Latin. The translation of Peter Martyr of Angleria's The decades of the newe worlde or west India conteynyng the nauigations and conquestes of the Spanyardes by Rycharde Eden, published in 1555 but presumably written prior to the author's death in 1526, also presumes upon the name of a geographic location ("Ethiopia" at the time, however, was used in a broader sense than it is now) used in a sense associating skin color with that location (a "black or dark-skinned person", OED paywalled):
Wherby we may see howe vainely mankynde wandereth in his owne blyndnesse. The Ethiopian thincketh the blacke colour to be fayrer then the white: And the white man thinketh otherwise.
My research queried only the orthographic forms shown in the question; information on other, earlier forms would be welcome.
After having the original question closed as "too broad", I split it into three questions, White Noises, Person or People, Man or Men, Woman or Women, and posted them separately. This is one of those.
etymology racism
etymology racism
asked 2 days ago
JELJEL
27.6k45293
asked 2 days ago
JELJEL
27.6k45293
edited 6 mins ago
JEL
asked 2 days ago
JELJEL
27.6k45293
asked 2 days ago
JELJEL
27.6k45293
asked 2 days ago
JELJEL
27.6k45293
27.6k45293
This question has an open bounty worth +100
reputation from JEL ending in 6 days.
This question has not received enough attention.
This question has an open bounty worth +100
reputation from JEL ending in 6 days.
This question has not received enough attention.
1
I would have shortened the question and posted the results of your research as an answer. That might have got the ball rolling so to speak.
– Mari-Lou A
18 hours ago
1
I would mention in the post: you were informed that your original question was too broad so that is why you have split it into three parts.
– Mari-Lou A
18 hours ago
1
Also, please update the question titles. They are all identical but the questions are not. This one has nothing to do with white noise, for example.
– Andrew Leach♦
16 hours ago
1
White noise has a specific meaning
– Andrew Leach♦
16 hours ago
1
No, it doesn't. You are forcing a specific meaning on to a phrase that already has one.
– Andrew Leach♦
16 hours ago
|
show 7 more comments
1
I would have shortened the question and posted the results of your research as an answer. That might have got the ball rolling so to speak.
– Mari-Lou A
18 hours ago
1
I would mention in the post: you were informed that your original question was too broad so that is why you have split it into three parts.
– Mari-Lou A
18 hours ago
1
Also, please update the question titles. They are all identical but the questions are not. This one has nothing to do with white noise, for example.
– Andrew Leach♦
16 hours ago
1
White noise has a specific meaning
– Andrew Leach♦
16 hours ago
1
No, it doesn't. You are forcing a specific meaning on to a phrase that already has one.
– Andrew Leach♦
16 hours ago
1
1
I would have shortened the question and posted the results of your research as an answer. That might have got the ball rolling so to speak.
– Mari-Lou A
18 hours ago
I would have shortened the question and posted the results of your research as an answer. That might have got the ball rolling so to speak.
– Mari-Lou A
18 hours ago
1
1
I would mention in the post: you were informed that your original question was too broad so that is why you have split it into three parts.
– Mari-Lou A
18 hours ago
I would mention in the post: you were informed that your original question was too broad so that is why you have split it into three parts.
– Mari-Lou A
18 hours ago
1
1
Also, please update the question titles. They are all identical but the questions are not. This one has nothing to do with white noise, for example.
– Andrew Leach♦
16 hours ago
Also, please update the question titles. They are all identical but the questions are not. This one has nothing to do with white noise, for example.
– Andrew Leach♦
16 hours ago
1
1
White noise has a specific meaning
– Andrew Leach♦
16 hours ago
White noise has a specific meaning
– Andrew Leach♦
16 hours ago
1
1
No, it doesn't. You are forcing a specific meaning on to a phrase that already has one.
– Andrew Leach♦
16 hours ago
No, it doesn't. You are forcing a specific meaning on to a phrase that already has one.
– Andrew Leach♦
16 hours ago
|
show 7 more comments
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1
I would have shortened the question and posted the results of your research as an answer. That might have got the ball rolling so to speak.
– Mari-Lou A
18 hours ago
1
I would mention in the post: you were informed that your original question was too broad so that is why you have split it into three parts.
– Mari-Lou A
18 hours ago
1
Also, please update the question titles. They are all identical but the questions are not. This one has nothing to do with white noise, for example.
– Andrew Leach♦
16 hours ago
1
White noise has a specific meaning
– Andrew Leach♦
16 hours ago
1
No, it doesn't. You are forcing a specific meaning on to a phrase that already has one.
– Andrew Leach♦
16 hours ago