Bachelor

Sexology ba-bo • Sexology bp-bo

A bachelor is a man who is not and has never been married.

Etymology

The term "bachelor" is first recorded in the 12th century as "bacheler," referring to a knight bachelor—one too young or poor to gather vassals under his own banner. The Old French word "bacheler" likely comes from the Provençal "bacalar" and the Italian "baccalare," though the ultimate origin of the term remains uncertain. The suggested Medieval Latin *baccalaris (meaning "vassal" or "field hand") is documented only late enough that it might have originated from the vernacular languages, rather than the southern French and northern Spanish Latin "baccalaria." Alternatively, it may have derived from the Latin "baculum" (meaning "a stick"), in reference to the wooden sticks that knights would use during training.

History

Starting in the 14th century, the term "bachelor" was also applied to a junior member of a guild (commonly known as "yeomen") or a university, and subsequently to low-level ecclesiastics, such as young monks and newly appointed canons. As a lesser degree of scholarship, it became associated with those holding a "bachelor's degree." This meaning of baccalarius or baccalaureus is first recorded at the University of Paris in the 13th century, during the system of degrees established under Pope Gregory IX for scholars still in statu pupillari. There were two categories of baccalarii: the baccalarii cursores, theological candidates who passed for admission to the divinity course, and the baccalarii dispositi, who had completed the course and were eligible to pursue higher degrees.

In the Victorian era, the term "eligible bachelor" referred to a young man who was unmarried and considered suitable for marriage in both financial and social aspects for the prospective bride in question. Similarly, during the Victorian era, the term "confirmed bachelor" described a man who wished to stay single.

By the late 19th century, the term "bachelor" had taken on the general meaning of "unmarried man." The phrase "bachelor party" was first recorded in 1882. In 1895, a feminine equivalent, "bachelor-girl," was created, but it was replaced in U.S. English by "bachelorette" by the mid-1930s. This terminology is now generally viewed as outdated and has largely been superseded by the gender-neutral term "single," which was first recorded in 1964. In England and Wales, the term "bachelor" remained the official term for marriage registration until 2005, when it was replaced with "single."

Bachelors have been subject to penal laws in many countries, most notably in Ancient Sparta and Rome. At Sparta, men unmarried after a certain age were subject to various penalties (Ancient Greek: ἀτιμία, atimía): they were forbidden to watch women's gymnastics; during the winter, they were made to march naked through the agora singing a song about their dishonor; and they were not provided with the traditional respect due to the elderly. Some Athenian laws were similar. Over time, some punishments developed into no more than a teasing game. In some parts of Germany, for instance, men who were still unmarried by their 30th birthday were made to sweep the stairs of the town hall until they were kissed by a "virgin". In a 1912 Pittsburgh Press article, there was a suggestion that local bachelors should wear a unique pin that identified them as such, or a black necktie to symbolize that "....they [bachelors] should be in perpetual mourning because they are so foolish as to stay unmarried and deprive themselves of the comforts of a wife and home."

The concept of a tax on bachelors has persisted throughout the centuries. Bachelors in Rome were subject to the Lex Julia of 18 BC and the Lex Papia Poppaea of AD 9, which imposed heavy fines on unmarried or childless individuals while granting certain privileges to those with multiple children. The English Crown enacted the Marriage Duty Act of 1695, targeting single males over 25 to help raise funds for the Nine-Years' War.

A study conducted by Professor Charles Waehler at the University of Akron in Ohio on non-married heterosexual males found that once these men reach middle age, they are less likely to marry and remain unattached later in life. The study concluded that there is only a 1-in-6 chance that men older than 40 will leave single life, and after age 45, the odds drop to 1-in-20.

In some Gulf Arab countries, the term "bachelor" can refer both to single men and to immigrant men who are married to spouses living in their home countries, largely due to the high costs associated with sponsoring a spouse locally.

Bachelorette

Bachelorette is sometimes used to refer to a woman who has never been married.

More information is available at [ Wikipedia:Bachelor ]

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