wive
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
-
to take as wife; marry.
-
to provide with a wife.
verb
-
to marry (a woman)
-
(tr) to supply with a wife
Etymology
Origin of wive
before 900; Middle English wiven, Old English wīfian, derivative of wīf; see 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
It is hard to wive and thrive in a year.
From Collection of Scotch Proverbs by Stampoy, Pappity
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
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 Home Book of Verse — Volume 1 by Stevenson, Burton Egbert
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.
