Marc Brysbaert , a psychology professor at Ghent University in Belgium analyzed the results of a vocabulary test taken by 220-thousand people to see how many words people know. And it turns out, there are quite a few words that women know better than men, and vice versa.
The words women tend to know that men don’t include (see full list here here):
- Peplum - “A short gathered or pleated strip of fabric attached to the waist of a woman’s jacket, dress or blouse to create a hanging frill or flounce.”
- Tulle - “A soft, fine silk, cotton or nylon material like net, used for making veils and dresses.”
- Chignon - “A large smooth, twist, roll or knot of hair, worn by women at the nape of the neck or back of the head.”
- Freesia - “A small southern African plant with fragrant, colorful, tubular flowers, many of which are cultivated for the cut-flower trade.”
- Sateen - “Cotton fabric woven like satin with a glossy surface”
- Doula - “A woman who is trained to provide support to women and their families during pregnancy, childbirth and the period of time following the birth.”
And the words men are more likely to know include (see full list here here):
- Howitzer - “A cannon having a comparatively short barrel, used especially for firing shells at a high angle of elevation, as for reaching a target behind cover or in a trench.”
- Thermistor - “An electrical resistor used for measurement and control.”
- Azimuth - “An angular measurement in a spherical coordinate system.”
- Milliamp - “A unit of measurement for electric current.”
- Yakuza - “A Japanese organized crime syndicate similar to the Mafia.”
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