wife
Plural: wives
Noun
- A married woman, especially in relation to her husband.
- a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
- A married woman, especially in relation to her spouse.
- The female of a pair of mated animals.
- Synonym of woman.
Verb
Verb Forms: wifed, wifing, wifes
- To take a woman as a wife; to marry.
- To marry (a woman).
Examples
- A new wife for the gander is introduced into the pen.
- He playfully threatened to WIFE any player who could score over 200 points in one turn.
- His WIFE often beat him at Scrabble, which he secretly admired.
- The Fisherman and His Wife
Origin / Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Germanic *wībą
Proto-West Germanic *wīb
Old English wīf
Middle English wyf
English wife
Inherited from Middle English wyf, wif, from Old English wīf (“woman, wife”), from Proto-West Germanic *wīb, from Proto-Germanic *wībą (“woman, wife”).
Germanic cognates include Scots wife (“wife”), West Frisian wiif (“wife, woman”), Saterland Frisian Wieuw (“woman, lady, female”), North Frisian wüf (“wife, woman”), Dutch wijf (“woman, female”), Low German Wief (“woman, female”), German Weib (“woman, wife, female”), Danish viv (“wife, woman”), Norwegian viv (“wife, woman, girl”), Swedish viv (“woman”), Faroese vív (“wife, woman”), Icelandic víf (“woman”).
The further etymology is unknown, with a number of disputed suggestions. One suggestion connects Tocharian A/B kip/kwīpe (“genitals, female pudenda”), for a hypothetical Indo-European *gʰwíbʰ- (“pudenda”).
Another suggestion connects Old English wǣfan (“wrap, clothe”), Old Norse vífa (“wrap, veil”) for a suggested original motive of "married woman wearing a scarf".
Yet another suggestion connects Old High German weibōn (“move to and fro”), Old Norse veifa (“swing, throw”), for a motive of "one who is moving busily; housekeeper, maidservant" (cf. German Weibel (“manservant, usher”)).
Synonyms
married woman, 'er indoors, ball and chain, better half, boss, bride, dutch, frow, geezer, her indoors, lady, little lady, little woman, memsahib, missus, old lady, old woman, trouble, trouble and strife, wife, wifekin, wifelet, wifeling, wifey, wive, woman
Scrabble Score: 10
wife: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordwife: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
wife: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary