wife

wife

 (wīf)

n. pl. wives (wīvz)

A woman joined to another person in marriage; a female spouse.

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[Middle English wif, woman, wife, from Old English wīf.]

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wife′hood′ n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

wife

(waɪf)

n, pl wives (waɪvz)

1. (Law) one's (female) partner in marriage; a married woman.

2. an archaic or dialect word for woman

3. take to wife to marry (a woman)

[Old English wīf; related to Old Norse vīf (perhaps from vīfathr veiled), Old High German wīb (German Weib)]

ˈwifehood n

ˈwifeless adj

ˈwifeˌlike adj

ˈwifeliness n

ˈwifely adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

wife

(waɪf)

n., pl. wives (waɪvz)

1. a woman joined in marriage to a man and considered as his spouse.

2. a woman (archaic or dial., except in idioms): old wives' tales.

Idioms:

take to wife, to marry (a particular woman): And he took to wife a woman of the next village.

[before 900; Middle English, Old English wīf woman, c. Old Frisian, Old Saxon wīf, Old High German wīp, Old Norse vīf]

-wife

a combining form of wife, now unproductive, occurring in words that designate traditional roles or occupations of women: fishwife; goodwife; housewife; midwife.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

Wife

See also marriage.

uxoricide

1. the murder of a wife by a husband.
2. a husband who murders his wife. — uxoricidal, adj.

viduage

Obsolete, the condition of widowhood. Also viduity. — vidual, adj.

-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

wife - a married woman; a man's partner in marriage married woman battle-axe, battle-ax - a sharp-tongued domineering wife crown princess - the wife of a crown prince first lady - the wife of a chief executive golf widow - a wife who is left alone much of the time because her husband is playing golf honest woman - a wife who has married a man with whom she has been living for some time (especially if she is pregnant at the time); "he made an honest woman of her" homemaker, housewife, lady of the house, woman of the house - a wife who manages a household while her husband earns the family income marchioness - the wife or widow of a marquis matron - a married woman (usually middle-aged with children) who is staid and dignified mayoress - the wife of a mayor missis, missus - informal term of address for someone's wife old lady - your own wife; "meet my old lady" sheika, sheikha - the wife of a sheik signora - an Italian title of address equivalent to Mrs. when used before a name better half, married person, partner, spouse, mate - a person's partner in marriage trophy wife - a wife who is an attractive young woman; seldom the first wife of an affluent older man; "his trophy wife was an asset to his business" ux., uxor - (legal terminology) the Latin word for wife vicereine - wife of a viceroy viscountess - a wife or widow of a viscount adult female, woman - an adult female person (as opposed to a man); "the woman kept house while the man hunted" hubby, husband, married man - a married man; a woman's partner in marriage

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

wife

noun spouse, woman (informal), partner, mate, squeeze (informal), bride, old woman (informal), old lady (informal), little woman (informal), significant other (U.S. informal), better half (humorous), her indoors (Brit. slang), helpmate, helpmeet, (the) missis or missus (informal), vrou (S. African), bidie-in (Scot.) He married his wife Jane 37 years ago.

Related words
adjective uxorial

Quotations
"If you get a good wife you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher" [Socrates]
"Wives are young men's mistresses, companions for middle age, and old men's nurses" [Francis Bacon]
"An ideal wife is any woman who has an ideal husband" [Booth Tarkington]
"I... chose my wife, as she did her wedding gown, not for a fine glossy surface, but such qualities as would wear well" [Oliver Goldsmith The Vicar of Wakefield]
"My fairest, my espoused, my latest found,"
"Heaven's last best gift, my ever new delight" [John Milton Paradise Lost]
"best image of myself and dearer half" [John Milton Paradise Lost]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

زَوْجَةزَوْجَه

женасъпруга

manželkažena

konefruhustru

EhefrauFrauGattin

σύζυγοςσυμβίαγυναίκα

edzino

esposamujerseñora

naine

زن

vaimoaviovaimo

épousefemmeépoux

supruga

feleségasszony

istri

eiginkonakona

mogliesignorasposafemmina

妻

아내

uxor

bobučių pasakapatismurto panaudojimas prieš žmonąžmonažmonos sumušimas

sieva

vrouwechtgenote

konehustrufru

żonamałżonka

esposamulher

nevastăsoţie

женасупруга

manželkažena

soproga

fruhustrumaka

ภรรยา

karıeş

vợ

妻子

wife

[ˈwaɪf] [wives] (pl) n → femme f, épouse f
She's his wife → C'est sa femme.

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

wife

n pl <wives> → Frau f, → Gattin f (form), → Gemahlin f (liter, form); the wife (inf) → die Frau; a woman whom he would never make his wife → eine Person, die er niemals zu seiner Frau machen würde; businessmen who take their wives with them on their trips → Geschäftsleute, die ihre (Ehe)frauen or Damen mit auf Geschäftsreise nehmen; to take a wife (old) → sich (dat) → eine Frau or ein Weib (old) → nehmen; to take somebody to wife (old) → jdn zum Weibe nehmen (old)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

wife

[waɪf] n (wives (pl)) → moglie f
the wife (fam) → la padrona
it's just an old wives' tale → è solo una superstizione

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

wife

(waif) – plural wives (waivz) – noun

the woman to whom one is married. Come and meet my wife; He is looking for a wife. vrou زَوْجَه съпруга esposa manželka die (Ehe-)Frau kone η σύζυγος esposa, mujer naine, abikaasa زن vaimo femmeאישה पत्नी žena, supruga feleség istri eiginkona moglie 妻 아내 žmona sieva isteri echtgenotekone, hustrużona ماينه، ښځه، مېرمن esposa soţie жена manželka žena supruga fru, hustru ภรรยา eş, karı 妻子 дружина, жінка بیوی vợ 妻子

old wives' tale

a superstitious and misleading story. ouvroustorie خُرافَة عَجائِز суеверие superstição babské řeči das Altweibermärchen ammestuehistorie λαϊκή δοξασία cuento de viejas vananaisteplära قصه های مادربزرگان kansanomainen uskomus conte de bonne femme סִיפּוּרֵי סָבתַא अंधविश्वास वाली और भ्रामक कहानी praznovjerna priča mesebeszéd tahayul kerlingabók, kredda, bábilja superstizione たわいのない話 (노파들의) 실없는 이야기 bobučių pasaka sievu tenkas; blēņas kepercayaan karut, tahyul oudewijvenpraat gammel overtro, eventyr; kjerringråd babskie gadanie کیسی superstiáao poveşti de adormit copiii бабушкины сказки babské reči babja čenča bapske priče amsaga, skrock เรื่องลี้ลับเกี่ยวกับภรรยาแก่ kocakarı masalı, boş inanç 無稽之談 бабські плітки; бабські вигадки من گھڑت باتیں chuyện mê tín 无稽之谈，荒诞故事

ˈwife-battering noun

the crime of beating one's own wife. vrouslanery ضَرْب المَرأَه насилие над съпругата crime doméstico bití manželky die Gewalt in der Ehe (gegen die Ehefrau) hustrumishandling κακοποίηση συζύγου malos tratos naisepeks قتل همسر vaimon pahoinpitely violence conjugale מַכֵּה נָשִים पत्नी को पीटने का अपराध zlostavljanje supruge feleségbántalmazás kejahatan memukul istri (il percuotere la propria moglie) 妻への暴力 아내 구타 smurto panaudojimas prieð þmonà, þmonos sumuðimas miesas bojājumu nodarīšana sievai jenayah memukul isteri sendiri vrouwenmishandeling konemishandling znęcanie się nad współmałżonką وژل избиение жены nezákonné použitie násilia voči manželke pretepanje žene zlostavljenje supruge อาชญากรรมของการต่อสู้เพื่อแย่งภรรยา karı dövme 毆妻罪 биття дружини اپنی بیوی کو مارنے کا جرم tội bạo hành gia đình 殴打妻子罪

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

wife

→ زَوْجَة manželka kone Ehefrau σύζυγος esposa vaimo épouse supruga moglie 妻 아내 vrouw kone żona esposa жена fru ภรรยา karı vợ 妻子

Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

wife

n. esposa.

English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

• This is my wife → هَذِهِ زَوْجَتي → Tohle je má žena → Det er min kone → Das ist meine Frau → Από δω η σύζυγός μου → Esta es mi esposa → Tässä on vaimoni → Voici mon épouse → Ovo je moja supruga → Questa è mia moglie → 私の妻です → 제 아내예요 → Dit is mijn vrouw → Dette er min kone → To moja żona → Esta é a minha esposa → Это моя жена → Det här är min fru → นี่ภรรยาผมครับ → Bu eşim → Đây là vợ tôi → 这是我妻子
• I'm looking for a present for my wife → أَنا أَبْحَثُ عَنْ هَدِيَةٍ لِزَوْجَتي → Sháním dárek pro svou ženu → Jeg leder efter en gave til min kone → Ich suche ein Geschenk für meine Frau → Ψάχνω ένα δώρο για τη γυναίκα μου → Busco un regalo para mi esposa → Etsin lahjaa vaimolleni → Je cherche un cadeau pour ma femme → Tražim poklon za suprugu → Sto cercando un regalo per mia moglie → 私は妻へのプレゼントを探しています → 아내에게 줄 선물을 찾고 있어요 → Ik ben op zoek naar een cadeau voor mijn vrouw → Jeg ser etter en gave til min kone → Szukam prezentu dla mojej żony → Eu estou procurando um presente para minha esposa? → Я ищу подарок для жены → Jag letar efter en present till min fru → ฉันกำลังหาของขวัญสักชิ้นหนึ่งให้ภรรยา → Eşime bir armağan almak istiyordum → Tôi đang tìm một món quà cho vợ tôi → 我想要买一件送给我妻子的礼物

Collins Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

wife

n (pl wives) esposa

English-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.