Blind Adherence

Now that Hillary Clinton is the betting favorite to win the Oval Office, the debate is raging among grammarians whether "woman President" is proper English. (The controversy has nothing to do with Mrs. Clinton's politics; presumably the issue would apply to a President Fiorina as well.)

According to the Associated Press style book the adjective female is the acceptable modifier for "President." Woman, of course, is a noun, and nouns don't modify other nouns. In other words "female President" yes, "woman President" no.

The Economist's language columnist Johnson, named after Samuel Johnson, asserts (bold added[

In the phrase "the first woman president", woman is an attributive noun, which can certainly modify another noun. And although attributive nouns may initially look like adjectives in a sentence, they are indeed different.

Johnson goes on to explain that, while the "woman" in "woman President" functions as an adjective, it most definitely cannot be used as in adjective in common circumstances, i.e., "the governor is woman" sounds and is wrong, while "the governor is female" is proper usage.

Your humble observer's grammatical education never progressed further than the basic "a noun is a person, place, or thing", and "an adjective modifies a noun or pronoun." The Associated Press appears to be guilty of this blind--and deaf--adherence to these childhood rules. Never argue English with the English.

[Note: The great man himself would likely have disapproved of either woman President or female President.

Sir, a woman's preaching is like a dog's walking on his hind legs. It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all."
--------from Boswell's Life of Johnson]