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, noun

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.