Dutch wife

American  

noun

1. (in tropical countries) an open framework used in bed as a rest for the limbs.

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Dutch wife British  

noun

1. a long hard bolster used, esp in the tropics, to support one's uppermost knee when sleeping on one's side

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Etymology

Origin of Dutch wife

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Dutch wife

His Dutch wife Ginni van Katwijk — yes, she’s also a high diver competing this week in Japan — has her own injury file.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 23, 2023

But she thinks even her British-born husband Tim, and one of her sons and his Dutch wife will "all be rooting for Denmark", she says.

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2021

Hilali and his native Dutch wife were among more than 5,000 plaintiffs who brought a class-action lawsuit against Wilders for discrimination, for his comments at that March 2014 rally.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 21, 2017

In his Columbia days, he lived in Astoria, Queens, with his Dutch wife, Sandra Roelofs, who worked at Cheesy Pizza before they found jobs at Manhattan law firms and moved to the Upper West Side.

From New York Times ● Sep. 19, 2014

But then you are such a regular, good, Dutch wife and mo-ther, Adolph-ine.

From Small Souls by Couperus, Louis