one-woman

The compound adjective 'one-woman' is a modern English formation built from two native English elements. 'One' derives from the Proto-Germanic 'ainaz', which has a stable history of denoting singularity. 'Woman' originates from the Old English 'wīfmann' (wife-person), a compound itself that evolved to specify the female gender. The logic of combining 'one' and 'woman' is transparently attributive, creating a modifier that specifies an activity, operation, or characteristic as being undertaken or possessed by a sole female individual. This pattern follows a productive English compounding rule, similar to 'one-man' or 'one-car', to efficiently denote exclusivity or solo effort in a given context.

Structure: one (single) + woman (adult female human) - one: From Old English 'ān', meaning "one, single, alone". Its functional role is as a numerical determiner/quantifier. - woman: From Old English 'wīfmann', meaning "female human". Its functional role is as the noun being modified.