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What is the origin of the usage of the word "Man" as a word of exclamation?

Man this curry is delicious!

Man my feet hurt!

Chris
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1 Answers1

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It started as a generic vocative expression, like calling somebody "buddy" today -- the word meant "person", the sense of "adult male" came later. According to the OED, it started to switch over to being a more general interjection about 1823.

Michael Lorton
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    Etymonline adds, "As an interjection of surprise or emphasis, first recorded c.1400, but especially popular from early 20c.". – RegDwigнt Feb 25 '11 at 10:32