waɪf 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). øhave (or take) to wife archaic marry (a woman). wife-swapping colloq. exchanging
wives for sexual relations. øøwifehood n. wifeless adj. wifelike adj. wifely adj. wifeliness n. wifish adj. [OE wif woman: ult. orig. unkn.]