General
wife
What does wife mean?
A woman generally, whether married or unmarried.
"There was a wife at the door asking for ye."
Origin
Old English 'wif', simply meaning 'woman'.
Frequently asked questions
Does wife just mean a married woman here?
No. In this North East dialect sense, wife means any woman, married or not, as in 'there was a wife at the door'.
Where does this meaning of wife come from?
It preserves the Old English 'wif', which simply meant 'woman'.
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Vocabulary Flow — saved to your collection.
