Word Confusion: Main versus Mane

Posted June 27, 2016 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
8 July 2023

I cracked up when I read about the woman character combing her long main. I knew the author was referring to her hair, but I couldn’t help imagining, that in an alternate life, maybe this character was a detective combing the primary, long street she considers her own.

It is scary how a pair of heterographs can send one’s imagination soaring . . . on a guffaw . . .

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Main	Mane
Multiplicador de Tomadas is Felipe Micaroni Lalli’s own work under the CC BY-SA 2.5 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — Plugging into the mains.	Long Mane by Charles Rondeau is in the public domain, via Public Domain Pictures.net.
Part of Grammar:
Attrib. Adjective ¹; Noun ¹, ²; Proper Noun ³ Plural: mains	Noun Plural: manes
Adjective: Chief in size or importance ¹ Principal Leading Sheer Utmost As strength or force Of or relating to a broad expanse [Grammar] Syntactically independent Capable of use in isolation [Nautical] Of or relating to a mainmast Noting or pertaining to a sail, yard, boom, etc., or to any rigging belonging to a mainmast Noting any stay running aft and upward to the head of a mainmast [Obsolete] Having or exerting great strength or force Mighty Having momentous or important results Significant Noun: A principal pipe carrying water or gas to buildings, or taking sewage from them ¹ [British] A principal cable carrying electricity [Archaic or literary] The open ocean [Nautical] Short for mainsail or mainmast [Usually mains] A main course in a meal [Historical] A match between fighting cocks ² A match in archery, boxing, etc. [In the game of hazard] A number (5, 6, 7, 8, or 9) called by a player before dice are thrown Proper Noun: A river of southwestern Germany that rises in northern Bavaria and flows west for 310 miles (500 km), through Frankfurt to meet the Rhine River at Mainz ³	Noun: A growth of long hair on the neck of a horse, lion, or other animal A person’s long or thick hair
Examples:
Adjective: You can’t miss it, it’s the main road out of town. The main problem is one of resources. They took the gate by main force. Noun: The explosion was the result of a faulty gas main. The mains need to be rewired and updated. We sail the ocean main! Raise the mainsail! A cannon ball hit the main and ended the battle. The restaurant offers four mains: one chicken, two beef, and one fish. He called a main and threw it last night, recouping his losses. Proper Noun: You can book a river cruise on the Main in Germany. Vast forests, fairy-tale castles, imposing palaces and quaint medieval towns line the banks of the River Main.	His mane should be combed free of all those prickers. Female lions don’t have a mane. He had a thick mane of gorgeous white hair. She has a glorious, thick mane of hair.
Derivatives:
Adverb: mainly Noun: mainline	Adjective: maned, maneless, unmaned
History of the Word:
From Middle English from the Old English mægen meaning physical force and reinforced by the Old Norse meginn, megn meaning strong, powerful. Both are from a Germanic base meaning have power. Late 16th century is probably from the phrase main chance. The Romans were the first to name the river (they called it the Moenus). It later makes an appearance — as the Meune — in the medieval German saga “The Song of the Niebelungs”, which first appeared in written form around AD 1200 (Harding).	From Old English manu that is of Germanic origin and related to the Dutch manen.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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Resources for Main versus Mane

Apple Dictionary.com

Dictionary.com: main

Harding, Maria. “Main River Cruise Tips.” Main River Cruises. Updated Updated 21 August 2018. Web. n.d. <http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1788>.

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