wife
[ wahyf ]
/ waɪf /
noun, plural wives [wahyvz] /waɪvz/.
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), wifed, wif·ing.
Rare.
wive.
Idioms for wife
take to wife,
to marry (a particular woman): He took an heiress to wife.
Origin of wife
before 900; Middle English, Old English
wīf woman; cognate with Dutch
wijf, German
Weib, Old Norse
vīf
OTHER WORDS FROM wife
wife·dom, noun wife·less, adjective wife·less·ness, nounWords nearby wife
wienie,
wiesbaden,
wieschaus,
wiesel,
wiesenthal,
wife,
wife swapping,
wife-beater,
wifehood,
wifelike,
wifely
Definition for wife (2 of 2)
-wife
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.
Example sentences from the Web for wife
British Dictionary definitions for wife
wife
/ (waɪf) /
noun plural wives (waɪvz)
a man's partner in marriage; a married woman
Related adjective: uxorial
an archaic or dialect word for woman
take to wife
to marry (a woman)
Derived forms of wife
Word Origin for wife
Old English
wīf; related to Old Norse
vīf (perhaps from
vīfathr veiled), Old High German
wīb (German
Weib)
Idioms and Phrases with wife
wife
see under wives.