wife

wife
wife (n.) 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. Du. wijf now means, in slang, "girl, babe," having softened somewhat from earlier sense of "bitch."
Some proposed PIE roots include *weip- "to twist, turn, wrap," perhaps with sense of "veiled person" (see VIBRATE (Cf. vibrate)); or *ghwibh-, a 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 Old English; the general sense of "woman" is preserved in MIDWIFE (Cf. midwife), old wives' tale, etc. Middle English sense of "mistress of a household" survives in HOUSEWIFE (Cf. housewife); and later restricted sense of "tradeswoman of humble rank" in FISHWIFE (Cf. fishwife). Wife-swapping is attested from 1959.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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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, [… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • wife — W1S1 [waıf] n plural wives [waıvz] [: Old English; Origin: wif woman, wife ] the woman that a man is married to →↑husband, spouse ↑spouse ▪ Have you met my wife? ▪ a refuge for battered wives ▪ …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • wife|ly — «WYF lee», adjective, li|er, li|est. of a wife; like a wife; suitable for a wife. –wife´li|ness, noun …   Useful english dictionary

  • WIFE — can refer to:* WIFE (AM), a radio station at 1580 AM licensed to Connersville, Indiana * WIFE FM, a radio station at 94.3 FM licensed to Rushville, Indiana * WMOJ FM, an FM radio station formerly known as WIFE FM from 1994 2006 …   Wikipedia

  • wife — [ waıf ] (plural wives [ waıvz ] ) noun count *** the woman that a man is married to: I d better phone my wife and tell her I ll be late. wife of: a reception for the wives of the ambassadors …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • wife — [wīf] n. pl. wives [wīvz] [ME < OE wif, woman, akin to Swed viv, Ger weib < ? IE base * weip , to twist, turn, wrap, in sense “the hidden or veiled person”] 1. a woman: still so used in such compounds as midwife, housewife, etc. 2. a… …   English World dictionary

  • wife — index consort, spouse Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • wife — has the plural form wives …   Modern English usage

  • wife — [n] married woman bride, companion, consort, helpmate, mate, monogamist, other half*, partner, roommate, spouse; concepts 414,415 Ant. husband …   New thesaurus

  • wife — ► NOUN (pl. wives) 1) a married woman considered in relation to her husband. 2) archaic or dialect a woman, especially an old or uneducated one. DERIVATIVES wifely adjective. ORIGIN Old English, «woman» …   English terms dictionary

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