Advertisement
Advertisement
wife
1[ wahyf ]
noun
- a married woman, especially when considered in relation to her partner in marriage.
- a woman ( archaic or dial., except in idioms):
old wives' tale.
verb (used with or without object)
- Rare. wive.
-wife
2- 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.
wife
/ waɪf /
noun
- a man's partner in marriage; a married woman uxorial
- an archaic or dialect word for woman
- take to wifeto marry (a woman)
Derived Forms
- ˈwifeless, adjective
- ˈwifehood, noun
- ˈwifeliness, noun
- ˈwifely, adjective
- ˈwifeˌlike, adjective
Other Words From
- wifedom noun
- wifeless adjective
- wifeless·ness noun
Word History and Origins
Origin of wife1
Word History and Origins
Origin of wife1
Idioms and Phrases
- take to wife, to marry (a particular woman):
He took an heiress to wife.
More idioms and phrases containing wife
see under wives .Example Sentences
He lives in Oxnard with his wife and never built a home on his farm.
He denied that his crimes against his wife had been sparked by an inferiority complex or by a desire for revenge for an affair she had in the 1980s.
Tammy Faye Messner, the mascara-laden former wife of televangelist Jim Bakker, the charismatic TV preacher with the choir-boy face with whom she appeared on their popular Christian talk-variety show until his downfall amid scandal in the late 1980s, has died.
Messner first drew John’s attention in 1985, when she was the wife of TV pastor Jim Bakker and interviewed pastor Steve Pieters, a gay man living with AIDS, he told the Hollywood Reporter last month.
He also told the jury he was lying when he called his wife, Ms Batool, a “psycho” earlier in the trial.
Advertisement
Words That Use -wife
What does -wife mean?
The combining form -wife is used like a suffix to mean “wife” or, more generally, “woman.” It’s used in a variety of terms, especially in reference to professions, but it’s relatively uncommon except for in a few words.
The form -wife comes from Old English wīf, meaning “woman.” Wīf was eventually combined with mann, which was then a gender-neutral term for an adult person, to create wīfmann, the source of the modern word woman. Want to know more? Check out our Words That Use entry for -woman.
What are variants of -wife?
Just as the word wives is used as a plural form of the word wife, the ending -wives is often used as a plural form of -wife, as in midwives.
Examples of -wife
One of the most common and well-known words that uses -wife is midwife, “a person trained to assist in childbirth.” Midwife comes from Middle English midwif, which uses the equivalent form of -wife.
The form mid- here means “with, accompanying,” from Old English mid-. As we have seen, -wife means “woman.” The word elements of midwife literally translate to “accompanying woman,” but men also work as midwives, and they are also commonly referred to as midwives.
The word housewife has largely fallen out of general use (other than in the titles of some TV shows) due to a history of sometimes being used in a way considered demeaning.
What are some words that use the combining form -wife?
More About Wife
What is a basic definition of wife?
A wife is a married woman.
The word wife is often used when a woman’s marital status is important to the current topic. For example, a man might explain to a salesperson that he is looking for a present for his wife, which is a lot more helpful than saying he is buying a gift for “a woman.”
The plural of wife is wives. A man who is married is called a husband. A woman whose marital partner has died is called a widow.
- Real-life examples: Queen Isabella I of Castille was the wife of King Ferdinand II of Aragon. King Henry VIII infamously had six wives (but one at a time!). If you are married to a woman, then she is your wife.
- Used in a sentence: My uncle has never been married and says he has no interest in finding a wife.
Sometimes, a modifier is used with wife to be more specific about a woman’s marital partner.
- Used in a sentence: The documentary explored the lives of prison wives.
Some married people prefer gender-neutral terms, such as spouse or partner. The choice is up to the people in the marriage.
Where does wife come from?
The first records of wife come from before the 900s. It comes from the Old English word wīf, meaning “woman.” It is related to the Dutch wijf, the German Weib, and the Old Norse vīf.
Did you know ... ?
What are some other forms related to wife?
What are some synonyms for wife?
What are some words that share a root or word element with wife?
What are some words that often get used in discussing wife?
How is wife used in real life?
Wife is a very common word used to explain a woman’s relationship to her spouse.
My wife is the Person of the Year.
— Craig Spencer MD MPH (@Craig_A_Spencer) December 12, 2020
Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has teed up a trip to the Oscars as a Christmas gift for his wife Cathy.
— Bolarinwa Olajide (@iambolar) December 27, 2013
A man near and dear to me and many others has lost his wife in a battle with cancer. My prayers are with you Coach Jackson
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) July 3, 2013
Try using wife!
True or False?
The word wife is used to refer to a woman who is not married.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse