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fishwife

[ fish-wahyf ]
/ ˈfɪʃˌwaɪf /
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noun, plural fish·wives.

a woman who sells fish.
a coarse-mannered, vulgar-tongued woman.

RELATED WORDS

shrew, biddy, beldam, virago, Jezebel, vixen, fury, slattern, harpy, bag, harridan, witch, sorceress, crone, battle-ax, ogress, gorgon, termagant, Medusa, wench

Nearby words

  1. fishskin,
  2. fishskin disease,
  3. fishtail,
  4. fishtank,
  5. fishway,
  6. fishworm,
  7. fishy,
  8. fisk,
  9. fisk, james,
  10. fiske

Origin of fishwife

First recorded in 1375–1425, fishwife is from the late Middle English word fisshwyf. See fish, wife
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for fishwife

British Dictionary definitions for fishwife

fishwife

/ (ˈfɪʃˌwaɪf) /

noun plural -wives

a woman who sells fish
a coarse scolding woman
Derived Formsfishwifely, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for fishwife

fishwife

n.

1520s, from fish (n.) + wife in the "woman" sense.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper