There are 20 words that women are more likely to know than men, according to a resurfaced study of vocabulary.
The study, which was conducted by Professor Marc Brysbaert from Ghent University in Belgium, found that there were around 20 words that those who identified as women were more likely to know.
The data was collected using an online poll of 220,000 people, and the test was said to have included a list of 62,000 words.
Professor Brysbaer said, 'At the Centre of Reading Research we are investigating what determines the ease with which words are recognised.
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'As we made the list ourselves and have not used a commercially available dictionary list with copyright restrictions, it can be made available to everyone, and all researchers can access it.'
So, what were the 20 words women are more likely to recognise than men?
The disputed words are: peplum; tulle; chignon; bandeau; freesia; chenille; kohl; verbena; doula; ruche; espadrille; damask; jacquard; whipstitch; boucle; taffeta; sateen; chambray; pessary; and voile.
To be fair, we'd argue anyone who's worked in a department store would know those words.
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There were also said to be words that men knew better, which include 'howitzer' and 'thermistor'.
However, we'd argue that these words aren't limited to men; just anyone familiar with their local B&Q.
People took to Twitter to voice their opinions, with one saying, 'As a man I have to say... are those real words women know? I don't know a single one. I do know quite a few of the male words, but not all.'
Others noted they were familiar with both lists, with one writing, 'As a gay man I straddle both but def lean team chenille.'
Others commented that the differentiation between both lists seemed obsolete.
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They said, 'Yep, I know them all. All real. The “female” words. But I know most of the “male” words too. It’s pitting tech and weapons terms against fashion and beauty terms, basically. It really depends more on your life context than your gender, I would argue.'
And, honestly, we'd have to agree. The list seems to be determined more by your life experience than gender.
As one user said, 'I know all the "male" words but I missed one of the "female" words (espadrille). I work in tech, but I used to sew my own clothes. The "female" words are mostly about fabrics/clothing. The "male" words are mostly tech/warfare. It's just what you do with your time. 100% social.'
Hear, hear.
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Topics: World News
