wive
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
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to take as wife; marry.
-
to provide with a wife.
verb
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to marry (a woman)
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(tr) to supply with a wife
Etymology
Origin of wive
before 900; Middle English wiven, Old English wīfian, derivative of wīf; 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.
The men of Padua, where Fred Graham’s Petruchio has “come to wive it wealthily,” sport brightly hued tights, exaggerated codpieces and lavishly plumed caps.
From New York Times • May 30, 2015
But when I came, alas! to wive, With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,By swaggering could I never thrive, For the rain it raineth every day.
From The Guardian • Apr. 1, 2013
God grant us all to thrive, And for a twelvemonth to be alive, And every bachelor to wive; And many blessings on the head Of our dear Presidential Ted.
From Julia Ward Howe 1819-1910 by Elliott, Maud Howe
A prince who might have gone with gods to wive Nor bated them in choice!
From Semiramis and Other Plays Semiramis, Carlotta And The Poet by Dargan, Olive Tilford
Shakspeare has imparted a dashing humorous character to this play, exemplified, among other peculiarities, by such rhyming of following words as— "Haply to wive and thrive as least I may."
From Notes and Queries, Number 22, March 30, 1850 by Various
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.
