Definitions for wife
waɪf; waɪvzwife

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. wife, married womannoun

   a married woman; a man's partner in marriage

WiktionaryRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. wifenoun

   A married woman, especially in relation to her spouse.

2. wifenoun

   The female of a pair of mated animals.

   A new wife for the gander is introduced into the pen.

3. Etymology: From wif, wiif, wyf, from wif, from wīban, possibly from gʰʷí₂bʰ- (compare Tocharian A/B kip/kwīpe).\ Cognate with wife, wiif, wüf, wijf, Wief, Weib, viv, viv, vív, víf.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Wifenoun

   Plural wives A woman that has a husband.

   Etymology: wif , Saxon; wiff, Dutch.

   Your claim, fair sister,
   I bar it in the interest of my wife. William Shakespeare, King Lear.

   There’s no bottom, none
   In my voluptuousness; your wives, your daughters,
   Your matrons and your maids could not fill up
   The cistern of my lust. William Shakespeare, Macbeth.

   Why saidst thou, she is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife. Gen. xii. 19.

   The wife, where danger or dishonour lurks,
   Safest and seemliest by her husband stays. John Milton.

   The wife her husband murders, he the wife. Dryden.

   Fond of his friend, and civil to his wife. Alexander Pope.

   2. It is used for a woman of low employment.

   Strawberry wives lay two or three great strawberries at the mouth of their pot, and all the rest are little ones. Francis Bacon.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Wife

   A wife (PL: wives) is a female in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until the marriage is legally dissolved with a divorce judgement. On the death of her partner, a wife is referred to as a widow. The rights and obligations of a wife in relation to her partner and her status in the community and in law vary between cultures and have varied over time.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:4.3 / 3 votes

1. Wifenoun

   a woman; an adult female; -- now used in literature only in certain compounds and phrases, as alewife, fishwife, goodwife, and the like

2. Wifenoun

   the lawful consort of a man; a woman who is united to a man in wedlock; a woman who has a husband; a married woman; -- correlative of husband

3. Etymology: [OE. wif, AS. wif; akin to OFries. & OS. wif, D. wijf, G. weib, OHG. wb, Icel. vf, Dan. viv; and perhaps to Skr. vip excited, agitated, inspired, vip to tremble, L. vibrare to vibrate, E. vibrate. Cf. Tacitus, [ Germania 8]: Inesse quin etiam sanctum aliquid et providum putant, nec aut consilia earum aspernantur aut responsa neglegunt. Cf. Hussy a jade, Woman.]

FreebaseRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Wife

   A wife is a female partner in a continuing marital relationship. A wife may also be referred to as a spouse. The term continues to be applied to a woman who has separated from her husband and ceases to be applied to such a woman only when her marriage has come to an end following a legally recognised divorce or the death of her spouse. On the death of her husband, a wife is referred to as a widow, but not after she is divorced from her husband. The rights and obligations of the wife in relation to her husband, and others, and her status in the community and in law, varies between cultures and has varied over time. In a heterosexual relationship, a woman's spouse is her husband.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Wife

   wīf, n. a woman: a married woman: the mistress of a house, a hostess—often in this sense 'goodwife.'—n. Wife′hood, the state of being a wife.—adjs. Wife′less, without a wife; Wife′-like, Wife′ly. [A.S. wíf; Ice. víf, Ger. weib; not conn. with weave.]

The Roycroft DictionaryRate this definition:3.3 / 4 votes

1. wife

   1. In good society, a publicity agent who advertises her husband's financial status through conspicuous waste and conspicuous leisure. 2. In the submerged tenth, a punching-bag and something handy for batting up flies. 3. A man's mental mate, and therefore his competitor in the race for power. 4. The other half of the sphere. (This view is usually regarded as a vagary, and any one holding it is apt to be pointed out as strange, peculiar, erratic and unsafe.)

Editors ContributionRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. wife

   A person that is married

   His wife is working on a project at the moment and he looks forward with joyful anticipation to seeing and cuddling with her.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on March 20, 2020  

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. wife

   The wife symbol -- In this Symbols.com article you will learn about the meaning of the wife symbol and its characteristic.

2. WIFE

   What does WIFE stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the WIFE acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'wife' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #554

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'wife' in Written Corpus Frequency: #775

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'wife' in Nouns Frequency: #198

How to pronounce wife?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say wife in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of wife in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of wife in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of wife in a Sentence

1. Burmese Proverb:

   By a husband wealth is accumulated; by a wife is its preservation.

2. Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice:

   It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a large fortune must be in want of a wife.

3. Chrissy Snow:

   The [title of sex symbol] always amused me because, from my perspective, I’m a mom, a wife, an actress, a writer and homebody, i’m only a sex symbol with Alan.

4. Tracy Morgan:

   Last year Jimmy Kimmel said on stage, I'll see you next year, thanks to my doctors and my beautiful wife, I'm here standing on my own two feet. It's been a long road back.

5. Tom Acquaviva:

   We come here every year. We live in New Jersey. The crowds keep getting less, but my wife and I, as long as we're breathing, we'll be here, no remains were ever found, so basically this is his cemetery.

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