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hussy

- 5 dictionary results

hus⋅sy

  [huhs-ee, huhz-ee]
Use hussy in a Sentence
–noun, plural -sies.
1. a brazen or immoral woman.
2. a mischievous, impudent, or ill-behaved girl.
Origin:
1520–30; earlier hussive housewife

Synonyms:
1. trollop, slut. 2. baggage, minx.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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hus·sy   (hŭz'ē, hŭs'ē)   
n.   pl. hus·sies
  1. A woman considered brazen or immoral.
  2. A saucy or impudent girl.

[Alteration of Middle English houswif, housewife; see housewife.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Hussy

Hus"sy\, n. [Contr. fr. huswife.]

1. A housewife or housekeeper. [Obs.]

2. A worthless woman or girl; a forward wench; a jade; -- used as a term of contempt or reproach. --Grew.

3. A pert girl; a frolicsome or sportive young woman; -- used jocosely. --Goldsmith.

Hussy

Hus"sy\, n. [From Icel. h?si a case, prob. fr. h?s house. See House, and cf. Housewife a bag, Huswife a bag.] A case or bag. See Housewife, 2.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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hussy 
1530, "mistress of a household, housewife," alt. of M.E. husewif, from huse "house" + wif "wife." Gradually broadened to mean "any woman or girl," and by 1650 was being applied to "a woman or girl who shows casual or improper behavior," and a general derogatory sense had overtaken the word by 19c. "It is common to use housewife in a good, and huswife or hussy in a bad sense." [Johnson]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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