Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see husband, and, wife. (This entry is a translation hub.)

plural of wife-giver

plural of wife-taker

plural of wife-beater

(Canada, historical) A fur trader's First Nations or Métis common-law wife.

A wife in law only, such as one who has abandoned her husband / A wife who provides domestic or social support, but not love or affection

Alternative form of henwife

(idiomatic, dated, of a man) To marry a woman.

An old woman, later especially one who tells old wives' tales. / the alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) / A species of perciform fish endemic to the temperate coastal waters of Australia (Enoplosus armatus)

(archaic) A woman who deals in oysters.