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Backlash As Cambridge Dictionary Tweaks Woman, Man’s Definitions

Published

3 years ago

December 14, 2022

Cambridge Dictionary has come under heavy criticism after it updated its definitions of woman and man.

The dictionary updated its definition of ‘woman’ to include anyone who ‘identifies as female’, Daily Mail reports.

A supplementary definition in the online dictionary now states the word can mean ‘an adult who lives and identifies as female though they may have been said to have a different sex at birth’.

Examples of usage include ‘Mary is a woman who was assigned male at birth’ and ‘she was the first trans woman elected to a national office’.

The entry for ‘male’ has also been updated to include individuals who had a ‘different sex at birth’, according to the report.

‘Man’ is defined as ‘an adult human being’ and ‘the human race’, while the new supplementary definition adds that it can also mean ‘an adult who lives and identifies as male though they may have been said to have a different sex at birth’.

Users are given the examples ‘Mark is a trans man (= a man who was said to be female when they were born)’ and ‘their doctor encouraged them to live as a man for a while before undergoing surgical transition’.

Earlier this year, Merriam-Webster included a new supplementary definition of ‘female’ which stated ‘having a gender identity that is the opposite of male’.

Reacting to the new development, Free Speech Union founder Toby Young said the dictionary compilers had gone down a ‘slippery slope’.

“It’s disappointing to see identity politics creeping into the way a dictionary defines words,’ he said.

“The claim that these supplementary definitions of “woman” and “man” are based on “carefully studied usage patterns” doesn’t seem plausible. Who, apart from a few woke activists, define “woman” and “man” this way?

“I suspect this new definition has been introduced as a result of lobbying by political activists, a slippery slope that no dictionary should go down.”

Chris McGovern of the Campaign for Real Education said the designation for ‘woman’ should have come with a warning as the definition is disputed.

“Since it’s a contested definition, the dictionary should state that it’s a contested definition.

“The danger is it will give a green light to what’s going on in primary schools where parents are already worried that children are becoming confused from an early age.

“This will fuel the debate and cause further unhappiness among children who will question their own identities.’ The update would give the new description legitimacy as dictionary definitions are regarded as ‘holy writ’, he added.

But Dr Jane Hamlin, president of transgender and non-binary support group The Beaumont Society, described the addition as ‘good news’.

She said: ‘There has been so much disinformation and rubbish written about definitions of “man” and “woman” lately but these definitions are clear, concise and correct. Congratulations to Cambridge Dictionary team.’ The dictionary’s main entry for woman remains an ‘adult female human being’.
PUNCH

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12 Die, 30 Missing In Peru Landslide

Published

3 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

At least 12 people, including three children, died in a landslide at a river port in central Peru on Monday, and 30 were reported missing, officials said.

The landslide submerged a boat with about 50 passengers on board, and another with none, as they were docked at the port of Iparia in the Amazon jungle region of Ucayali, according to a police report cited by the Andina news agency.

Six people were injured, it added, and a search and rescue operation was underway at the start of the Peruvian rainy season.

Without giving a toll, Peru’s COEN national emergency operations centre said on X that tragedy struck at dawn due to “erosion” of the bank of the Ucayali river.

It said the navy has been called in to help.

AFP

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Nigeria Grants Asylum To Guinea-Bissau Opposition Candidate

Published

4 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian embassy in Guinea-Bissau has granted asylum to Fernando Dias da Costa, the country’s opposition presidential candidate, following alleged threats to his life after last week’s military coup, The Cable Reports.

The coup was announced by military officers on Wednesday, just days after Guinea-Bissau’s presidential election in which both incumbent President Umaro Embaló and his main challenger, da Costa, claimed victory before official results were released.

Nigeria condemned the takeover and urged an immediate return to constitutional order.

In a letter to the President of the Economic Community of West African States Commission, Omar Touray, dated November 30, the Foreign Affairs Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, said President Bola Tinubu had approved asylum and protection for da Costa inside the Nigerian embassy in Bissau.

Tuggar wrote that the decision was made “in response to threats made against da Costa’s life.”

“In this regard, it would be appreciated if you would kindly mandate the ECOWAS Stabilisation Support Mission in Guinea-Bissau to provide him protection and security while in the premises of the Nigerian embassy,” the letter stated.

The foreign affairs minister’s Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy, Alkasim Abdulkadir, confirmed the letter’s authenticity to The Cable on Monday.

He said, “The decision of the Federal Government of Nigeria to grant asylum and provide protection to Fernando Dia Da Costa falls squarely within Nigeria’s sovereign responsibility and longstanding commitment to regional peace, stability, and democratic governance.”

He added that Nigeria acted “in the broader interest of de-escalation,” saying the government had exercised its discretion “to prevent further deterioration of tensions and to promote social cohesion in Guinea-Bissau and the wider West African sub-region.”

According to Abdulkadir, the intervention aligns with ECOWAS principles and reflects Nigeria’s role as a stabilising force in West Africa.

Following the coup, ECOWAS held an emergency virtual summit of heads of state and subsequently suspended Guinea-Bissau from the regional bloc until constitutional order is restored.

Headline

Trump To Attend FIFA World Cup Finals Draw On Friday

Published

4 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

The White House on Monday confirmed US President Donald Trump would attend the draw for the FIFA World Cup finals in Washington later this week.

The United States will co-host the 2026 tournament alongside Canada and Mexico.

“On Friday, President Trump will attend the FIFA World Cup final draw at the Kennedy Centre,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

Trump has made the World Cup a centrepiece event of both his second presidency and the 250th anniversary of US independence next year.

But the giant sporting extravaganza has not escaped the political turmoil caused by Trump’s hardline stance on a host of issues.

Trump, a Republican, has raised the possibility of moving games from some US host cities amid a crackdown on what he says is crime and illegal migration in some Democratic-run areas.

AFP