Expert shares 20 words that women know - while many men haven't heard of them

Can you tell people what a 'howitzer' is? Do you know what a 'bandeau’ is?

According to a survey, if you know that a bandeau is a strapless tube top, you're most likely to be a woman.

And if you know that a howitzer is a large gun, you might be male.

While this may sound like a series of sexist assumptions, it's actually the result of an online survey that looked at the different words recognised by men and women.

Around 220,000 people took part in the online vocabulary test and the results have recently resurfaced online - leaving people baffled at the division of words.

The study by Marc Brysbaert, director of the Center for Reading Research, analysed the results of a vocab test from Ghent University which tested the number of words people knew.

People were left divided - with some never having heard of some of the words before (Getty Images)

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It found a number of words that were known better than men and women - and vice versa.

Now the results have set Twitter alight, as people discuss the results.

Men were much more likely to recognise these words:

• Howitzer

• Thermistor

• Azimuth

• Femtosecond

• Milliamp

• Aileron

• Kohl

• Degauss

• Bouson

• Checksum

• Piezoelectricity

• Gauss

• Katana

• S****le

• Neodymium

• Yakuza

• Teraflop

• Strafe

• Parsec

• Bushido

Women were much more likely to recognise these words:

• Peplum
• Tulle
• Chignon.
• Bandeau
• Freesia
• Chenille
• Kohl
• Verbena
• Doula
• Ruche
• Espadrille
• Damask
• Jacquard
• Whipstitch
• Boucle
• Taffeta
• Sateen
• Chambray
• Pessary
• Voile

One baffled man wrote: "Words men know but women don't and vice versa.

"As a man, I have to say... are those real words women know? I don't know a single one. I do know quite a few of the male words, but not all."

Another added: "I am a female engineer. I know all but one of the female list and all but three of the male list.

"If you know a bit about physics, hair and beauty, weapons, and dressmaking you’re got most of both lists covered."

A third commented: "Female; know all of the “female” words.

"Have heard of 14 of the “male” words but couldn’t tell you what most mean - at best, what topic they apply to. That said, I think my female friends who don’t sew would be lost on most of the supposedly “female” words."