# wife

> English word · Noun · IPA /wæf/ · frequency rank #601

## Definitions
1. A married woman, especially in relation to her spouse.
2. The female of a pair of mated animals.
3. Synonym of woman.

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Germanic *wībą
Proto-West Germanic *wīb
Old English wīf
Middle English wyf
English wife
Inherited from Middle English wyf, wif, from Old English wīf (“woman, wife”), from Proto-West Germanic *wīb, from Proto-Germanic *wībą (“woman; wife”).
Cognates
Germanic cognates include Scots wife (“wife; woman”), North Frisian wuf, wüf (“wife, woman”), Saterland Frisian Wieuw (“woman; wife; female”), West Frisian wiif (“wife; woman”), Cimbrian baibe, baip (“wife; woman”), Dutch wijf (“woman; female”), German Weib (“woman; wife; female”), German Low German Wiev (“woman; female”), Mòcheno baib (“woman”), Vilamovian bow (“wife; woman”), Yiddish ווײַב (vayb, “wife; woman”) Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish viv (“wife; woman”), Faroese vív (“wife; woman”), Icelandic víf (“wife; woman”).
The further etymology is unknown, with a number of disputed suggestions. One suggestion connects Tocharian A/B kip/kwīpe (“genitals, female pudenda”), for a hypothetical Indo-European *gʰwíbʰ- (“pudenda”).
Another suggestion connects Old English wǣfan (“wrap, clothe”), Old Norse vífa (“wrap, veil”) for a suggested original motive of "married woman wearing a scarf".
Yet another suggestion connects Old High German weibōn (“move to and fro”), Old Norse veifa (“swing, throw”), for a motive of "one who is moving busily; housekeeper, maidservant" (cf. German Weibel (“manservant, usher”)).

## Easily confused with
- **win** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wife-vs-win)
- **WTF** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wife-vs-wtf)
- **WWE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wife-vs-wwe)
- **wit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wife-vs-wit)
- **Wii** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wife-vs-wii)
- **wig** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wife-vs-wig)
- **woe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wife-vs-woe)
- **wis** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wife-vs-wis)
- **WWF** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wife-vs-wwf)
- **wiz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wife-vs-wiz)
- **wye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wife-vs-wye)
- **wim** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wife-vs-wim)
- **with** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wife-vs-with)
- **will** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wife-vs-will)
- **wish** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wife-vs-wish)
- **wind** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wife-vs-wind)
- **wild** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wife-vs-wild)
- **wine** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wife-vs-wine)
- **wins** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wife-vs-wins)
- **wing** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wife-vs-wing)

## Common misspellings (5)
`iwfe`, `wfie`, `wief`, `wiffe`, `wwife`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/wife