wive
English edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English wiven, iwiven, from Old English wīfian, wīfiġan, ġewīfian (“to take a wife; marry”).
Pronunciation edit
Verb edit
wive (third-person singular simple present wives, present participle wiving, simple past and past participle wived)
- (transitive, intransitive) To marry (a woman).
- c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:
- If he have the condition of a saint and the complexion of a devil, I had rather he should shrive me than wive me.
- (transitive) To provide (someone) with a wife.
Synonyms edit
- wife (slang, African-American Vernacular)
Anagrams edit
Middle English edit
Etymology 1 edit
A version of wyf with the voiced consonant analogically brought in from the plural forms.
Noun edit
wive
- Alternative form of wyf
Etymology 2 edit
From Old English wīfa, nominative plural of wīf.
Noun edit
wive
- Alternative form of wyve (“wives”)