goodwife

American  

[good-wahyf] / ˈgʊdˌwaɪf /

noun

goodwives plural

1. Chiefly Scot. the mistress of a household.

2. (initial capital letter) a title of respect for a woman.

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goodwife British  

/ ˈɡʊdˌwaɪf /

noun

1. the mistress of a household

2. a woman not of gentle birth: used as a title

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• goodwives
  plural

Etymology

Origin of goodwife

Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325; see origin at good, wife

Example Sentences

Paying small heed to those about her, the goodwife sipped the water, prayed quietly.

From Time Magazine Archive

She, too, had three attendants�her aunt, another goodwife who had borne 17 children, and her husband Ovila Dionne.

From Time Magazine Archive

I am surprised to find such remarkably easy circumstances in the house of a servant, and still more in you, dear goodwife, such an unusually high degree of cultivation.--Perhaps,

From Gabriel A Story of the Jews in Prague by Kohn, Spiegfried

Then my father looked in at the door and said, "'Tis time, goodwife, for young folks to be abed."

From The Catholic World; Volume I, Issues 1-6 A Monthly Eclectic Magazine by Rameur, E.

Customarily thou art so cloistered in that the goodwife declares thou forgettest to eat for three days together—and certes there is little thou canst eat when thou goest not abroad to buy provision!

From Dreamers of the Ghetto by Zangwill, Israel