If you’ve ever wondered whether it was spelled聽蹿颈补苍肠茅 辞谤听蹿颈补苍肠茅e,听well, they’re both correct. And they’re both correct because they are actually different terms.
English borrowed them from variants of the French verb聽fiancer (meaning “to get engaged”) in the mid-19th century. The masculine (蹿颈补苍肠茅) and feminine (蹿颈补苍肠茅e) noun forms were both imported by English speakers, even though English doesn’t typically use gendered word endings. The extra E at the end is what denotes 蹿颈补苍肠茅e is feminine.
The terms ultimately derive from the Latin聽fidare, literally meaning 鈥渢o trust.” But which form should you use, and when?
Should you use fianc茅听or f颈补苍肠茅别?
If you want to keep it traditional, the masculine form 蹿颈补苍肠茅 is typically used to describe “an engaged man,” while the feminine form 蹿颈补苍肠茅e is used to describe “an engaged woman.” Pronunciation of both 蹿颈补苍肠茅 and 蹿颈补苍肠茅e is identical.
Because English doesn’t have word endings that connote gender, differentiating between the male and the female betrothed seems unnecessary to modern English speakers. Especially given the increased social awareness of non-binary gender issues, the difference between 蹿颈补苍肠茅 and 蹿颈补苍肠茅e feels a bit old-fashioned and out-of-date.
For those who don’t want to choose between the terms, there appears to be a growing trend toward using聽蹿颈补苍肠茅 as the gender-neutral form for both a man and a woman.
