hussy

American  

[huhs-ee, huhz-ee] / ˈhʌs i, ˈhʌz i /

noun

hussies plural

1. a brazen or immoral woman.

   Synonyms:

   slut, trollop

2. a mischievous, impudent, or ill-behaved girl.

   Synonyms:

   minx, baggage

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hussy British  

/ -zɪ, ˈhʌsɪ /

noun

1. a shameless or promiscuous woman

2. dialect a folder for needles, thread, etc

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Etymology

Origin of hussy

1520–30; earlier hussive housewife

Explanation

A hussy is a woman or girl who's disrespectful or immoral. Your old fashioned grandmother might call your brother's live-in girlfriend a hussy. The noun hussy is an insulting and somewhat antique way to refer to a woman whose actions don't line up with traditional ideas of being respectable. A sexually bold women is most likely to be called a hussy, especially if she's seen as "stealing" another woman's partner. Originally, hussy was a shortening of the Middle English husewif, "housewife." Through the 1500's, hussy came to mean "any woman or girl," and by the 1650's it meant "an improper woman or girl."

Example Sentences

“Hey, miss Honey Bey. It’s Dolly P. You know that hussy with the good hair you sang about?” she says on the track.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 29, 2024

In the interlude "Dolly P," Parton references "Jolene" with, "You know that hussy with the good hair you sing about?/ Reminded me of someone I knew back when."

From Salon • Mar. 29, 2024

At 50 minutes, I was certain that a heart attack was imminent, but death was preferable to losing to that hussy.

From The Guardian • Jul. 1, 2017

But when the Great Lover married his hussy and began uxoriously washing diapers and doing kitchen chores to please her, his prestige began to wane.

From Time Magazine Archive

“Use your power,” she said, “and make the hussy fall madly in love with the vilest and most despicable creature there is in the whole world.”

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton