husband
[huhz-buh nd]
- a married man, especially when considered in relation to his partner in marriage.
- British. a manager.
- Archaic. a prudent or frugal manager.
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- to manage, especially with prudent economy.
- to use frugally; conserve: to husband one's resources.
- Archaic.
- to be or become a husband to; marry.
- to find a husband for.
- to till; cultivate.
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Origin of husband
Synonyms
See more synonyms for husband on Thesaurus.com5. preserve, save, store, hoard.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for husband
Contemporary Examples
Toomey lives here with her husband, Mark, a managing director at Goldman Sachs, and their two daughters.
Smith attended both funerals as a cop and as the husband of Police Officer Moira Smith, who died on 9/11.
“Call me when the plane leaves the ground,” she said, in a tone that implied she knew her husband well.
Mrs. Douli then watched her husband go under water for the last time.
“My husband and I were in the water for more than four hours,” she said, according to ANSA news service.
Historical Examples
The girls I know are taught painstakingly how to get a husband, but nothing of how to be a wife.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
The husband in my case was to be an inconvenience, but doubtless an amusing one.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
Mr. Bines is my husband, Mtterchen, and we're leaving for the West in the morning.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
"I ordered the sun turned on at just this point," replied her husband, with a large air.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
Mrs. Morgan gave Robert a reception as warm as her husband had done.
Brave and BoldHoratio Alger
husband
- a woman's partner in marriage
- archaic
- a manager of an estate
- a frugal person
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- to manage or use (resources, finances, etc) thriftily
- archaic
- (tr)to find a husband for
- (of a woman) to marry (a man)
- (tr) obsolete to till (the soil)
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Word Origin
Old English hūsbonda, from Old Norse hūsbōndi, from hūs house + bōndi one who has a household, from bōa to dwell
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for husband
n.
Old English husbonda "male head of a household," probably from Old Norse husbondi "master of the house," from hus "house" (see house (n.)) + bondi "householder, dweller, freeholder, peasant," from buandi, present participle of bua "to dwell" (see bower). Beginning late 13c., replaced Old English wer as "married man," companion of wif, a sad loss for English poetry. Slang shortening hubby first attested 1680s.
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v.
"manage thriftily," early 15c., from husband (n.) in an obsolete sense of "steward" (mid-15c.). Related: Husbanded; husbanding.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper