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oldwife

American  
[old-wahyf] / ˈɒldˌwaɪf /

noun

plural

oldwives

  1. any of various fishes, as the alewife, the menhaden, or a West Indian fish of the family Balistidae.

  2. old squaw.

oldwife British  
/ ˈəʊldˌwaɪf /

noun

  1. another name for old squaw

  2. any of various fishes, esp the menhaden or the alewife

"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

Etymology

Origin of oldwife

First recorded in 1580–90; old + 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.

Conger eels bark, schoolmasters sound as if they were delivering a lecture, and the oldwife gossips away with chirps and chatters.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.