Dictionary    Maps    Thesaurus    Translate    Advanced >   


Tip: Click Thesaurus above for synonyms. Also, follow synonym links within the dictionary to find definitions from other sources.

No results could be found matching the exact term Wife's.
Try one of these suggestions:
wife  wives 

Consider searching for the individual words Wife, or s.
Dictionary Results for Wife:
1. WordNet® 3.0 (2006)
wife
    n 1: a married woman; a man's partner in marriage [syn: wife,
         married woman] [ant: hubby, husband, married man]

2. The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Wife \Wife\, n.; pl. Wives. [OE. wif, AS. wif; akin to OFries.
   & OS. wif, D. wijf, G. weib, OHG. w[imac]b, Icel. v[imac]f,
   Dan. viv; and perhaps to Skr. vip excited, agitated,
   inspired, vip to tremble, L. vibrare to vibrate, E. vibrate.
   Cf. Tacitus, [" Germania" 8]: Inesse quin etiam sanctum
   aliquid et providum putant, nec aut consilia earum
   aspernantur aut responsa neglegunt. Cf. Hussy a jade,
   Woman.]
   [1913 Webster]
   1. A woman; an adult female; -- now used in literature only
      in certain compounds and phrases, as alewife, fishwife,
      goodwife, and the like. " Both men and wives." --Piers
      Plowman.
      [1913 Webster]

            On the green he saw sitting a wife.   --Chaucer.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. The lawful consort of a man; a woman who is united to a
      man in wedlock; a woman who has a husband; a married
      woman; -- correlative of husband. " The husband of one
      wife." --1 Tin. iii. 2.
      [1913 Webster]

            Let every one you . . . so love his wife even as
            himself, and the wife see that she reverence her
            husband.                              --Eph. v. 33.
      [1913 Webster]

   To give to wife, To take to wife, to give or take (a
      woman) in marriage.

   Wife's equity (Law), the equitable right or claim of a
      married woman to a reasonable and adequate provision, by
      way of settlement or otherwise, out of her choses in
      action, or out of any property of hers which is under the
      jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery, for the support of
      herself and her children. --Burrill.
      [1913 Webster]

3. Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
Wife
   The ordinance of marriage was sanctioned in Paradise (Gen. 2:24;
   Matt. 19:4-6). Monogamy was the original law under which man
   lived, but polygamy early commenced (Gen. 4:19), and continued
   to prevail all down through Jewish history. The law of Moses
   regulated but did not prohibit polygamy. A man might have a
   plurality of wives, but a wife could have only one husband. A
   wife's legal rights (Ex. 21:10) and her duties (Prov. 31:10-31;
   1 Tim. 5:14) are specified. She could be divorced in special
   cases (Deut. 22:13-21), but could not divorce her husband.
   Divorce was restricted by our Lord to the single case of
   adultery (Matt. 19:3-9). The duties of husbands and wives in
   their relations to each other are distinctly set forth in the
   New Testament (1 Cor. 7:2-5; Eph. 5:22-33; Col. 3:18, 19; 1 Pet.
   3:1-7).
   

4. Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856)
WIFE, domestic relations. A woman who has a husband. 
     2. A wife, as such, possesses rights and is liable to obligations. 
These will be considered. 1st. She may make contracts for the purchase of 
real estate for her own benefit, unless her husband expressly dissents. 6 
Binn. R. 427. And she is entitled to a legacy directly given to her for her 
separate use. 6 Serg. & Rawle, R. 467. In some places, by statutory 
provision, she may act as a feme sole trader, and as such acquire personal 
property. 2 Serg. & Rawle, R. 289. 
     3. 2d. She may in Pennsylvania, and in most other states, convey her 
interest in her own or her husband's lands by deed acknowledged in a form 
prescribed by law. 8 Dowl. R. 630. 
     4.-3d. She is under obligation to love, honor and obey her husband and 
is bound to follow him wherever he may desire to establish himself: 5 N. S. 
60; (it is presumed not out of the boundaries of the United States,) unless 
the husband, by acts of injustice and such as are contrary to his marital 
duties, renders her life or happiness insecure. 
     5.-4th. She is not liable for any obligations she enters into to pay 
money on any contract she makes, while she lives with her husband; she is 
presumed in such case to act as the agent of her husband. Chitty, Contr. 43 
     6.-5th. The incapacities of femes covert, apply to their civil rights, 
and are intended for their protection and interest. Their political rights 
stand upon different grounds, they can, therefore, acquire and lose a 
national character. These rights stand upon the general principles of the 
law of nations. Harp. Eq. R. 5 3 Pet. R. 242. 
     7.-6th. A wife, like all other persons, when she acts with freedom, may 
be punished for her criminal acts. But the law presumes, when she commits in 
his presence a crime, not malum in se, as murder or treason, that she acts 
by the command and coercion of her husband, and, upon this ground, she is 
exempted from punishment. Rose. on Cr. Ev. 785. But this is only a 
presumption of law, and if it appears, upon the evidence, that she did not 
in fact commit the act under compulsion, but was herself a principal actor 
and inciter in it, she may be punished. 1 Hale, P. C. 516; 1 Russ. on Cr. 
16, 20. Vide Contract; Divorce; Husband; Incapacity; Marriage; Necessaries; 
Parties to actions; Parties to contracts; Women and, generally, Bouv. Inst. 
Index, 



Common Misspellings >
Most Popular Searches: Define Misanthrope, Define Pulchritudinous, Define Happy, Define Veracity, Define Cornucopia, Define Almuerzo, Define Atresic, Define URL, Definitions Of Words, Definition Of Get Up, Definition Of Quid Pro Quo, Definition Of Irreconcilable Differences, Definition Of Word, Synonyms of Repetitive, Synonym Dictionary, Synonym Antonyms. See our main index and map index for more details.

©2011-2024 ZebraWords.com - Define Yourself - The Search for Meanings and Meaning Means I Mean. All content subject to terms and conditions as set out here. Contact Us, peruse our Privacy Policy