Wife
[waɪf]
Definition
(n.) A woman; an adult female; -- now used in literature only in certain compounds and phrases, as alewife, fishwife, goodwife, and the like.
(n.) 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.
Editor: Theresa
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. Married woman, BETTER-HALF, matron, helpmate, consort.
Edited by Kathleen
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Consort, spouse, helpmeet, helpmate
ANT:Mistress, husband
Checker: Patrice
Definition
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.
Inputed by Leslie
Unserious Contents or Definition
To dream of your wife, denotes unsettled affairs and discord in the home. To dream that your wife is unusually affable, denotes that you will receive profit from some important venture in trade. For a wife to dream her husband whips her, foretells unlucky influences will cause harsh criticism in the home and a general turmoil will ensue.
Inputed by Alisa
Examples
- I told his impudence that the gilt pestle and mortar was quite ornament enough; as if I was born, indeed, to be a country surgeon's wife! William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- Constantly she talked to me about what I should do to be thy wife. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- On the second day he found his wife and Sir Percival whispering together quite familiar, close under the vestry of the church. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- His wife saw the one part at least of the bouquet-scene. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- I saw them stop near the church and speak to the sexton's wife, who had come from the cottage, and had waited, watching us from a distance. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- Kiss me, Eunice, and be a good wife to Crispin, who loves you so dearly. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- My own sister as a wife, Sir Thomas Bertram as a husband, are my standards of perfection. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- And that it should have been his wife moved him indescribably. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
- Why, do you not know that Sydenham and I are become man and wife? Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- He had left his sleeping wife; and wanted, as Margaret saw, to be amused and interested by something that she was to tell him. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. North and South.
- In Middlemarch a wife could not long remain ignorant that the town held a bad opinion of her husband. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- What do you expect from your wife? Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- A wife, for example, had no control over her own property; she was in her husband's hands. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- She had sold it to become Sir Pitt Crawley's wife. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- As luck would have it, Raggles' house in Curzon Street was to let when Rawdon and his wife returned to London. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- Better be happy old maids than unhappy wives, or unmaidenly girls, running about to find husbands, said Mrs. March decidedly. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- The English men of fashion in Paris courted her, too, to the disgust of the ladies their wives, who could not bear the parvenue. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- I am sure we are constantly hearing, ma'am, till it becomes quite nauseous, concerning their wives and families,' said Bitzer. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- Plenty of them have other wives. Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell To Arms.
- The Emperor of Morocco don't know how many wives he has, but thinks he has five hundred. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- I would be glad to talk about wives. Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell To Arms.
- Mother, you are better to me than ten wives yet. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- Single men have, no doubt, a right to curse themselves as much as they please; but men with wives involve two in the doom they pray down. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- One of his wives was a Jewess, Safiyya, whom he had married on the evening of the battle in which her husband had been captured and executed. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Take this as a warning from men that are starving, and have starving wives and children to go home to when they have done this deed. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Men and women, husbands and wives, quarrel horribly, Shirley. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- King Henry VIII of England, he of the many wives, had a match-lock arquebus of this type dated 1537. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Quite a number of the American representatives brought their wives. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Yes, I think myself it is an encouragement to crime if such men are to be taken care of and waited on by good wives, said Mrs. Tom Toller. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- We have actually pretended that the work of extracting a living from nature could be done most successfully by short-sighted money-makers encouraged by their money-spending wives. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
Checked by Freda