wife
[wahyf] 
noun, plural wives [wahyvz] , verb, wifed, wif⋅ing.| 1. | a woman joined in marriage to a man; a woman considered in relation to her husband; spouse. |
| 2. | a woman (archaic or dial., except in idioms): old wives' tale. |
| 3. | Rare. wive. |
| 4. | take to wife, to marry (a particular woman): He took an heiress to wife. |
bef. 900; ME, OE wīf woman; c. D wijf, G Weib, ON vīf
Related forms:
-wife
| a combining form of wife, now unproductive, occurring in compound words that in general designate traditional roles or occupations of women: fishwife; goodwife; housewife; midwife. |
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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| wife (wīf) n. pl. wives (wīvz) A woman joined to another person in marriage; a female spouse. [Middle English wif, from Old English wīf; see ghwībh- in Indo-European roots.] wife'hood' n. |
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Wife
Wife\, n.; pl. Wives. [OE. wif, AS. wif; akin to OFries. & OS. wif, D. wijf, G. weib, OHG. w[=i]b, Icel. v[=i]f, Dan. viv; and perhaps to Skr. vip excited, agitated, inspired, vip to tremble, L. vibrare to vibrate, E. vibrate. Cf. Tacitus, [" Germania" 8]: Inesse quin etiam sanctum aliquid et providum putant, nec aut consilia earum aspernantur aut responsa neglegunt. Cf. Hussy a jade, Woman.]1. A woman; an adult female; -- now used in literature only in certain compounds and phrases, as alewife, fishwife, goodwife, and the like. " Both men and wives." --Piers Plowman. On the green he saw sitting a wife. --Chaucer. 2. The lawful consort of a man; a woman who is united to a man in wedlock; a woman who has a husband; a married woman; -- correlative of husband. " The husband of one wife." --1 Tin. iii. 2. Let every one you . . . so love his wife even as himself, and the wife see that she reverence her husband. --Eph. v. 33. To give to wife, To take to wife, to give or take (a woman) in marriage. Wife's equity (Law), the equitable right or claim of a married woman to a reasonable and adequate provision, by way of settlement or otherwise, out of her choses in action, or out of any property of hers which is under the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery, for the support of herself and her children. --Burrill.Cite This Source
wife
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Wife
The ordinance of marriage was sanctioned in Paradise (Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:4-6). Monogamy was the original law under which man lived, but polygamy early commenced (Gen. 4:19), and continued to prevail all down through Jewish history. The law of Moses regulated but did not prohibit polygamy. A man might have a plurality of wives, but a wife could have only one husband. A wife's legal rights (Ex. 21:10) and her duties (Prov. 31:10-31; 1 Tim. 5:14) are specified. She could be divorced in special cases (Deut. 22:13-21), but could not divorce her husband. Divorce was restricted by our Lord to the single case of adultery (Matt. 19:3-9). The duties of husbands and wives in their relations to each other are distinctly set forth in the New Testament (1 Cor. 7:2-5; Eph. 5:22-33; Col. 3:18, 19; 1 Pet. 3:1-7).
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wife
see under wives.
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