Wife
From Textus Receptus
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| + | ==Origin and etymology== | ||
| + | The word is of Germanic origin, from [[Proto-Germanic]] *''wībam'', "woman". In [[Middle English]] it had the form ''wif'', and in Old English ''wīf'', "[[woman]] or wife". It is related to Modern [[German language|German]] ''Weib'' (woman, wife),<sup>[]</sup> and may derive ultimately from the Indo-European root ''ghwībh-'' "shame; pudenda" (cf. [[Tocharian]] B ''kwīpe'' and Tocharian A ''kip'', each meaning "female pudenda", with clear sexual overtones)<sup>[]</sup> The original meaning of "wife" as simply "woman", unconnected with marriage, is preserved in words like "[[midwife]]" and "[[fishmonger|fishwife]]". | ||
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==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||
* [[Scriptures Containing Wife]] | * [[Scriptures Containing Wife]] | ||
Revision as of 13:02, 30 October 2011
Origin and etymology
The word is of Germanic origin, from Proto-Germanic *wībam, "woman". In Middle English it had the form wif, and in Old English wīf, "woman or wife". It is related to Modern German Weib (woman, wife),[] and may derive ultimately from the Indo-European root ghwībh- "shame; pudenda" (cf. Tocharian B kwīpe and Tocharian A kip, each meaning "female pudenda", with clear sexual overtones)[] The original meaning of "wife" as simply "woman", unconnected with marriage, is preserved in words like "midwife" and "fishwife".
