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noun
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.
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Wifeless
is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
4.
take to wife, to marry (a particular woman): He took an heiress to wife.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English, Old English wīf woman; cognate with Dutch wijf, German Weib, Old Norse vīf
before 900; Middle English, Old English wīf woman; cognate with Dutch wijf, German Weib, Old Norse vīf
Related forms
wife·dom, noun
wife·less, adjective
wife·less·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
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Link To wifeless
Collins
World English Dictionary
| wife (waɪf) | |
| —n , pl wives | |
| 1. | a man's partner in marriage; a married womanRelated: uxorial |
| 2. | an archaic or dialect word for woman |
| 3. | take to wife to marry (a woman) |
| Related: uxorial | |
| [Old English wīf; related to Old Norse vīf (perhaps from vīfathr veiled), Old High German wīb (German Weib)] | |
| 'wifehood | |
| —n | |
| 'wifeless | |
| —adj | |
| 'wifelike | |
| —adj | |
| 'wifeliness | |
| —n | |
| 'wifely | |
| —adj | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
wife
O.E. wif "woman," from P.Gmc. *wiban (cf. O.S., O.Fris. wif, O.N. vif, Dan., Swed. viv, M.Du., Du. wijf, O.H.G. wib, Ger. Weib), of uncertain origin. Some proposed PIE roots include *weip- "to twist, turn, wrap," perhaps with sense of "veiled person" (see vibrate); or *ghwibh-,
EXPANDa proposed root meaning "shame," also "pudenda," but the only examples of it are wife and Tocharian (a lost IE language of central Asia) kwipe, kip "female pudenda." The modern sense of "female spouse" began as a specialized sense in O.E.; the general sense of "woman" is preserved in midwife, old wives' tale, etc. M.E. sense of "mistress of a household" survives in housewife; and later restricted sense of "tradeswoman of humble rank" in fishwife. Du. wijf now means, in slang, "girl, babe," having softened somewhat from earlier sense of "bitch." Wife-swapping is attested from 1959.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
wife definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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