1) (old-fashioned) to take a wife
2) to beat; desert, leave one's wife
3) an abused, battered; common-law; estranged wife; ex-wife, former; jealous; unfaithful wife
4) (misc.) he had two children by his first wife
Combinatory dictionary. 2013.
Wife — Wife, n.; pl. {Wives}. [OE. wif, AS. wif; akin to OFries. & OS. wif, D. wijf, G. weib, OHG. w[=i]b, Icel. v[=i]f, Dan. viv; and perhaps to Skr. vip excited, agitated, inspired, vip to tremble, L. vibrare to vibrate, E. vibrate. Cf. Tacitus, [… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
wife — W1S1 [waıf] n plural wives [waıvz] [: Old English; Origin: wif woman, wife ] the woman that a man is married to →↑husband, spouse ↑spouse ▪ Have you met my wife? ▪ a refuge for battered wives ▪ … Dictionary of contemporary English
wife|ly — «WYF lee», adjective, li|er, li|est. of a wife; like a wife; suitable for a wife. –wife´li|ness, noun … Useful english dictionary
WIFE — can refer to:* WIFE (AM), a radio station at 1580 AM licensed to Connersville, Indiana * WIFE FM, a radio station at 94.3 FM licensed to Rushville, Indiana * WMOJ FM, an FM radio station formerly known as WIFE FM from 1994 2006 … Wikipedia
wife — [ waıf ] (plural wives [ waıvz ] ) noun count *** the woman that a man is married to: I d better phone my wife and tell her I ll be late. wife of: a reception for the wives of the ambassadors … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
wife — (n.) O.E. wif woman, from P.Gmc. *wiban (Cf. O.S., O.Fris. wif, O.N. vif, Dan., Swed. viv, M.Du., Du. wijf, O.H.G. wib, Ger. Weib), of uncertain origin. Du. wijf now means, in slang, girl, babe, having softened somewhat from earlier sense of… … Etymology dictionary
wife — [wīf] n. pl. wives [wīvz] [ME < OE wif, woman, akin to Swed viv, Ger weib < ? IE base * weip , to twist, turn, wrap, in sense “the hidden or veiled person”] 1. a woman: still so used in such compounds as midwife, housewife, etc. 2. a… … English World dictionary
wife — index consort, spouse Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
wife — has the plural form wives … Modern English usage
wife — [n] married woman bride, companion, consort, helpmate, mate, monogamist, other half*, partner, roommate, spouse; concepts 414,415 Ant. husband … New thesaurus
wife — ► NOUN (pl. wives) 1) a married woman considered in relation to her husband. 2) archaic or dialect a woman, especially an old or uneducated one. DERIVATIVES wifely adjective. ORIGIN Old English, «woman» … English terms dictionary
