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Origin and history of mane

mane(n.)

"growth of long hair on the back of the neck and shoulders," characteristic of the horse, lion, and some other animals, Old English manu "mane of a horse," from Proto-Germanic *mano, from PIE *mon- "neck, nape of the neck" (source also of Sanskrit manya "nape of the neck," Old English mene "necklace," Latin monile "necklace," Welsh mwng "mane," Old Church Slavonic monisto, Old Irish muin "neck").

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Germanic cognates include Old Norse mön, Old Frisian mana, Middle Dutch mane, Dutch manen, Old High German mana, German Mähne "mane." The Scandinavian languages have the word in a diminutive form (Danish manke, Swedish manke).

Extended use, of a person's hair, is from late 14c.

Entries linking to mane

manilla(2)

also manilio, "metal (usually copper) ring or arm-bracelet sold or bartered by European traders among African peoples," 1550s, from Spanish manilla, from Latin monilia, plural of monile "collar, necklace," from PIE *mon- "neck, nape of the neck" (source also of mane). Influenced in Spanish by Spanish mano "hand."

    Trends of mane

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

    More to explore

    palomino
    "horse with a light brown or cream coat and a pale mane and tail," 1899, (earlier palomino horse), from American Spanish...
    chameleon
    Perhaps the large head-crest on some species was thought to resemble a lion's mane....
    pony
    The Shetland breed of ponies are stoutly built, active and hardy, with very full mane and tail, and of gentle, docile disposition...
    lion
    late 12c., from Old French lion "lion," also figuratively "hero" (12c.), from Latin leonem (nominative leo) "lion; the constellation Leo," from Greek leon (genitive leontos), a word from a non-Indo-European language, perhaps Semitic (compare Hebrew labhi "lion," plural lebaim; Eg
    loin
    early 14c., "side of the body of an animal used for food;" late 14c., "side of the lower torso of a human body," from Old French loigne "hip, haunch, lumbar region," from Vulgar Latin *lumbea, from *lumbea caro "meat of the loin," from fem. of *lumbeus, from Latin lumbus "loin,"
    human
    mid-15c., humain, humaigne, "human," from Old French humain, umain (adj.) "of or belonging to man" (12c.), from Latin humanus "of man, human," also "humane, philanthropic, kind, gentle, polite; learned, refined, civilized." This is in part from PIE *(dh)ghomon-, literally "earthl
    man
    "a featherless plantigrade biped mammal of the genus Homo" [Century Dictionary], Old English man, mann "human being, person (male or female); brave man, hero;" also "servant, vassal, adult male considered as under the control of another person," from Proto-Germanic *mann- (source
    hair
    Old English hær "hair, a hair," from Proto-Germanic *hēran (source also of Old Saxon, Old Norse, Old High German har, Old Frisian her, Dutch and German haar "hair"), perhaps from PIE *ghers- "to stand out, to bristle, rise to a point" (source also of Lithuanian šerys "bristle;" s
    head
    Old English heafod "top of the body," also "upper end of a slope," also "chief person, leader, ruler; capital city," from Proto-Germanic *haubid (source also of Old Saxon hobid, Old Norse hofuð, Old Frisian haved, Middle Dutch hovet, Dutch hoofd, Old High German houbit, German Ha
    avarice
    c. 1300, "inordinate desire of gaining and possessing wealth," fifth of the seven deadly sins, from Old French avarice "greed, covetousness" (12c.), from Latin avaritia "greed, inordinate desire," from avarus "greedy, grasping," adjectival form of avere "crave, long for, be eager
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    Dictionary entries near mane