Wife Once Meant Any Woman
A wife is a married woman. The word originally meant a woman of any status.
A wife is a married woman considered in relation to her spouse. Old English *wif* simply meant a woman, married or not, and that older sense survives in *midwife*, literally *with-woman*, one who is with the mother at birth, and in *fishwife*, *housewife* and *old wives' tale*. *Woman* is itself a compound of *wif* and *man*, where *man* once meant a human being of either sex — so *woman* originally meant a female person, not a variant of a male one.
- A married woman. *His wife.*
- A woman (archaic). *Wif.*
- Midwife — with-woman. *A midwife.*
- Old wives' tale. *An old wives' tale.*
- Old English — *wif*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | wife | A wife. |
| Plural | wives | Wives. |
| Compound | midwife | A midwife. |
| Compound | housewife | A housewife. |
| Related | woman | A woman. |
- He introduced his wife.Marriage.
- Midwife means with-woman.Compound.
- Wif meant any woman.History.
Where the old sense survives
- Midwife — one who is with the woman giving birth
- Housewife — a woman running a household
- Fishwife — a woman who sold fish, hence a sharp tongue
- Old wives' tale — a story told by old women
- Woman — from *wif* plus *man*, a human being
Old English *wif*, a woman, of Germanic origin, related to German *Weib*.
What does midwife literally mean?
With-woman, from the older sense of wife as simply a woman. A midwife is one who is with the mother.
Is woman built from man?
Yes, but man once meant a human being of either sex, so woman meant a female person rather than a variant of a male.