n. (pl. wives)
1. a married woman esp. in relation to her husband.
2 archaic a woman, esp. an old or uneducated one.
3 (in comb.) a woman engaged in a specified activity (fishwife; housewife; midwife).
Phrases and idioms:
have (or take) to wife archaic marry (a woman). wife-swapping colloq. exchanging wives for sexual relations.
Derivatives:
wifehood n. wifeless adj. wifelike adj. wifely adj. wifeliness n. wifish adj.
Etymology: OE wif woman: ult. orig. unkn.