Spinster tags "spinster" (meaning "...unmarried woman, typically an older woman beyond the usual age for marriage") as "derogatory" and "a good example of the way in which a word acquires strong connotations to the extent that it can no longer be used in a neutral sense." The 1828 and 1913 editions of "Merriam Webster's Dictionary" defined spinster in two ways: "1. A woman who spins, or whose occupation is to spin. 2. Law: An unmarried or single woman." By the 1800s, the term had evolved to include women who chose not to marry. During that century middle-class spinsters, as well as
Eligible bachelor as an "eligible bachelor" chooses to be a bachelor, whereas an "eligible spinster" does not have a choice. Lakoff believes this use of language fosters, and grows from, sexual discrimination. Lakoff states "women are given their identity in our society by virtue of their relationship with men, and not vice versa." Another set of criteria that purports to determine a man's desirability to women is the "666 dating rule" or "rule of sixes", which are a set of minimum male qualities centred around the number six, namely a six feet height, a six-hundred horsepower car, six-pack abs, a six-inch penis,