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wifemore about wife

wife

 

  3  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  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 
  [``  Germania''  8]:  Inesse  quin  etiam  sanctum  aliquid  et 
  providum  putant,  nec  aut  consilia  earum  aspernantur  aut 
  responsa  neglegunt  Cf  {Hussy}  a  jade,  {Woman}.] 
  1.  A  woman;  an  adult  female;  --  now  used  in  literature  only 
  in  certain  compounds  and  phrases,  as  alewife,  fishwife, 
  goodwife,  and  the  like  ``  Both  men  and  wives.''  --Piers 
  Plowman. 
 
  On  the  green  he  saw  sitting  a  wife.  --Chaucer. 
 
  2.  The  lawful  consort  of  a  man;  a  woman  who  is  united  to  a 
  man  in  wedlock;  a  woman  who  has  a  husband;  a  married 
  woman;  --  correlative  of  husband.  ``  The  husband  of  one 
  wife.''  --1  Tin.  iii.  2. 
 
  Let  every  one  you  .  .  .  so  love  his  wife  even  as 
  himself,  and  the  wife  see  that  she  reverence  her 
  husband.  --Eph.  v.  33. 
 
  {To  give  to  wife},  {To  take  to  wife},  to  give  or  take  (a 
  woman)  in  marriage. 
 
  {Wife's  equity}  (Law),  the  equitable  right  or  claim  of  a 
  married  woman  to  a  reasonable  and  adequate  provision,  by 
  way  of  settlement  or  otherwise,  out  of  her  choses  in 
  action  or  out  of  any  property  of  hers  which  is  under  the 
  jurisdiction  of  the  Court  of  Chancery,  for  the  support  of 
  herself  and  her  children.  --Burrill. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  wife 
  n  :  a  married  woman;  a  man's  partner  in  marriage  [syn:  {married 
  woman}]  [ant:  {husband}] 
 
  From  Easton's  1897  Bible  Dictionary  [easton]: 
 
  Wife 
  The  ordinance  of  marriage  was  sanctioned  in  Paradise  (Gen.  2:24; 
  Matt.  19:4-6).  Monogamy  was  the  original  law  under  which  man 
  lived,  but  polygamy  early  commenced  (Gen.  4:19),  and  continued 
  to  prevail  all  down  through  Jewish  history.  The  law  of  Moses 
  regulated  but  did  not  prohibit  polygamy.  A  man  might  have  a 
  plurality  of  wives,  but  a  wife  could  have  only  one  husband.  A 
  wife's  legal  rights  (Ex.  21:10)  and  her  duties  (Prov.  31:10-31; 
  1  Tim.  5:14)  are  specified.  She  could  be  divorced  in  special 
  cases  (Deut.  22:13-21),  but  could  not  divorce  her  husband. 
  Divorce  was  restricted  by  our  Lord  to  the  single  case  of 
  adultery  (Matt.  19:3-9).  The  duties  of  husbands  and  wives  in 
  their  relations  to  each  other  are  distinctly  set  forth  in  the 
  New  Testament  (1  Cor.  7:2-5;  Eph.  5:22-33;  Col.  3:18,  19;  1  Pet. 
  3:1-7).




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