wife

wife · noun

imported

Definitions

noun

  1. 1.

    A married woman considered in relation to her spouse.

  2. 2.

    (Archaic or dialectal) A woman, especially an old or uneducated one.

Forms

plural: wives

Related words

Antonyms: husband
See also: husband, marriage, spouse, woman
Synonyms: partner, spouse

Etymology

From Old English "wif" meaning "woman, female," from Proto-Germanic "*wibam" meaning "woman." Originally the word simply meant "woman" without reference to marriage (cf. "midwife," "fishwife"). The meaning narrowed to "married woman" during the Middle English period. The plural "wives" preserves the Old English voicing of "f" to "v" between vowels.