goodwife
Americannoun
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goodwives
plural
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Chiefly Scot. the mistress of a household.
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(initial capital letter) a title of respect for a woman.
noun
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the mistress of a household
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a woman not of gentle birth: used as a title
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of goodwife
Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325; see origin at good, wife
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Paying small heed to those about her, the goodwife sipped the water, prayed quietly.
From Time Magazine Archive
"Where am I to get sticks to put under my pot?" screamed the goodwife.
From The Old Willow Tree and Other Stories by Carl Ewald
True, goodwife," said David; "but was not his doing so but a means of fulfilling the prognostication?
From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland Volume 21 by Alexander Leighton
Moreover his child had been nursed by a goodwife who lived near to Elizabeth Clarke and Elizabeth Gooding.
From A History of Witchcraft in England from 1558 to 1718 by Wallace Notestein
There be divers ways of dressing a capon, Mr. Denis," said he, "of which the goodwife hath a particular knowledge, as also of the sauces to be served therewith.
From Idonia: A Romance of Old London by Arthur F. Wallis
But the goodwives knew that Elzire Dionne was on the verge of bearing her seventh child, perhaps twins.
From Time Magazine Archive
Like a football quarterback, Dr. Dafoe passed another girl to the dumbfounded goodwives and another and another and another.
From Time Magazine Archive
The village goodwives saw well that he was a wizard, and when he told them that he was a healall, they brought him straight to the smith's house.
From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin
And at that, the commotion of the street poured in again upon me, and I heard sounds in all their particularity—the striking of hooves, the call of goodwives, the heaving of wood off a cart.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
In the dimness the men were rather solemn and foolish, but the goodwives quivered and adored as they sat about the table.
From Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis
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