husband

husband
hus·band (hŭz’bənd)
n. 1) A man joined to another person in marriage; a male spouse. 2) Chiefly British A manager or steward, as of a household. 3) Archaic A prudent, thrifty manager.
tr.v. hus·band·ed, hus·band·ing, hus·bands 1) To use sparingly or economically; conserve: »

husband one's energy.

2) Archaic To become a husband to.
[Middle English huseband, from Old English hūsbōnda, from Old Norse hūsbōndi : hūs, house + bōndi, būandi, householder, present participle of būa, to dwell; see bheuə-.]
Word History: The English word husband, even though it is a basic kinship term, is not a native English word. It comes ultimately from the Old Norse word hūsbōndi, meaning "master of a house," which was borrowed into Old English as hūsbōnda. The second element in hūsbōndi, bōndi, means "a man who has land and stock" and comes from the Old Norse verb būa, meaning "to live, dwell, have a household." The master of the house was usually a spouse as well, of course, and it would seem that the main modern sense of husband arises from this overlap. When the Norsemen settled in Anglo-Saxon England, they would often take Anglo-Saxon women as their wives; it was then natural to refer to the husband using the Norse word for the concept, and to refer to the wife with her Anglo-Saxon (Old English) designation, wīf, "woman, wife" (Modern English wife). Interestingly, Old English did have a feminine word related to Old Norse hūsbōndi that meant "mistress of a house," namely, hūsbonde. Had this word survived into Modern English, it would have sounded identical to husband—surely leading to ambiguities.

Word Histories. 2014.

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  • Husband — Hus band, n. [OE. hosebonde, husbonde, a husband, the master of the house or family, AS. h?sbonda master of the house; h?s house + bunda, bonda, householder, husband; prob. fr. Icel. h?sb[=o]ndi house master, husband; h?s house + b?andi dwelling …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • husband — [huz′bənd] n. [ME husbonde, householder, husband < Late OE husbonda < ON hūsbondi, lit., householder < hūs, HOUSE + bondi, freeholder, yeoman < earlier būandi, prp. of būa, to dwell: see BONDAGE] 1. a) a man with reference to the… …   English World dictionary

  • Husband — Hus band, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Husbanded}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Husbanding}.] 1. To direct and manage with frugality; to use or employ to good purpose and the best advantage; to spend, apply, or use, with economy. [1913 Webster] For my means, I ll… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Husband — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Gary Husband (* 1960), britischer Fusionmusiker Rick Douglas Husband (1957–2003), amerikanischer Astronaut Diese Seite ist eine Begriffsklärung zur Unterscheidung mehrerer mit demsel …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • husband — index consort, hoard, keep (shelter), preserve, spouse, store Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • husband — [n] married man bridegroom, companion, consort, groom, helpmate, hubby, mate, monogamist, monogynist, other half, partner, spouse; concepts 414,419 Ant. wife …   New thesaurus

  • husband — ► NOUN ▪ a married man considered in relation to his wife. ► VERB ▪ use (resources) economically. DERIVATIVES husbandless adjective husbandly adjective. ORIGIN original senses included «steward of a household» and «farmer»: from Old Norse …   English terms dictionary

  • Husband — A husband is a male spouse (participant) in a marriage, civil union or civil partnership.Origin and etymologyThe term husband refers to Middle English huseband , from Old English hūsbōnda , from Old Norse hūsbōndi (hūs, house + bōndi, būandi,… …   Wikipedia

  • husband — n. 1) to leave one s husband 2) a common law; cuckolded; estranged husband; ex husband, former; faithful; henpecked; jealous; philandering, unfaithful husband 3) (misc.) she had two children by her first husband * * * [ hʌzbənd] cuckolded… …   Combinatory dictionary

  • husband —    Wives appear to have regularly addressed their marital partners as ‘husband’ in the seventeenth century. Shakespeare has many instances of the word being used vocatively on its own, or in phrases like ‘good husband’, ‘gentle husband’, ‘good… …   A dictionary of epithets and terms of address

  • husband — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ future, prospective ▪ suitable ▪ former (also ex husband) ▪ dead, deceased, late …   Collocations dictionary

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