husband
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hus·band
(hŭz′bənd)n.
1. A man joined to another person in marriage; a male spouse.
2. Chiefly British A manager or steward, as of a household.
3. Archaic A prudent, thrifty manager.
tr.v. hus·band·ed, hus·band·ing, hus·bands
1. To use sparingly or economically; conserve: husband one's energy.
2. Archaic To become a husband to.
[Middle English huseband, from Old English hūsbōnda, from Old Norse hūsbōndi : hūs, house + bōndi, būandi, householder, present participle of būa, to dwell; see bheuə- in Indo-European roots.]
Word History: The English word husband, even though it is a basic kinship term, is not a native English word. It comes ultimately from the Old Norse word hūsbōndi, meaning "master of a house," which was borrowed into Old English as hūsbōnda. The second element in hūsbōndi, bōndi, means "a man who has land and stock" and comes from the Old Norse verb būa, meaning "to live, dwell, have a household." The master of the house was usually a spouse as well, of course, and it would seem that the main modern sense of husband arises from this overlap. When the Norsemen settled in Anglo-Saxon England, they would often take Anglo-Saxon women as their wives; it was then natural to refer to the husband using the Norse word for the concept, and to refer to the wife with her Anglo-Saxon (Old English) designation, wīf, "woman, wife" (Modern English wife). Interestingly, Old English did have a feminine word related to Old Norse hūsbōndi that meant "mistress of a house," namely, hūsbonde. Had this word survived into Modern English, it would have sounded identical to husband—surely leading to ambiguities.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
husband
(ˈhʌzbənd)n
1. one's (male) partner in marriage; a married man
2. archaic
a. a manager of an estate
b. a frugal person
vb
3. to manage or use (resources, finances, etc) thriftily
4. archaic
a. (tr) to find a husband for
b. to marry (a man)
5. (tr) obsolete to till (the soil)
[Old English hūsbonda, from Old Norse hūsbōndi, from hūs house + bōndi one who has a household, from bōa to dwell]
ˈhusbander n
ˈhusbandless adj
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
hus•band
(ˈhʌz bənd)n., v. -band•ed, -band•ing. n.
1. a married man, esp. when considered in relation to his wife.
2. Archaic. a prudent or frugal manager.
v.t. 3. to manage, esp. with economy.
4. to use frugally; conserve; store: to husband one's resources.
5. Archaic.
a. to be or become a husband to; marry.
b. to find a husband for.
[before 1000; Middle English; Old English hūsbonda master of the house < Old Norse hūsbōndi=hūs house + bōndi <*bōandi, orig. n. use of present participle of būa to dwell (compare boor)]
hus′band•er, n.
hus′band•less, adj.
hus′band•ly, adj.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
husband
Past participle: husbanded
Gerund: husbanding
| Imperative |
|---|
| husband |
| husband |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. |  husband - a married man; a woman's partner in marriagefamily man - a man whose family is of major importance in his life house husband, househusband - a husband who keeps house while his wife earns the family income uxoricide - a husband who murders his wife married woman, wife - a married woman; a man's partner in marriage |
| Verb | 1. | husband - use cautiously and frugally; "I try to economize my spare time"; "conserve your energy for the ascent to the summit" save, preserve - to keep up and reserve for personal or special use; "She saved the old family photographs in a drawer" retrench - tighten one's belt; use resources carefully |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
husband
noun
1. partner, man (informal), spouse, hubby (informal), mate, old man (informal), bridegroom, significant other (U.S. informal), better half (humorous), squeeze (informal), bidie-in (Scot.) Eva married her husband Jack in 1957.
verb
1. conserve, budget, use sparingly, save, store, hoard, economize on, use economically, manage thriftily Husbanding precious resources was part of rural life.
conserve spend, squander, splash out (informal, chiefly Brit.), fritter away, be extravagant
conserve spend, squander, splash out (informal, chiefly Brit.), fritter away, be extravagant
Quotations
"Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper,"
"Thy head, thy sovereign; one that cares for thee,"
"And for thy maintenance commits his body"
"To painful labour both by sea and land" [William Shakespeare The Taming of the Shrew]
"An archaeologist is the best husband any woman can have; the older she gets, the more interested he is in her" [Agatha Christie]
"Being a husband is a full-time job. That is why so many husbands fail. They cannot give their entire attention to it" [Arnold Bennett The Title]
"An early-rising man ... a good spouse but a bad husband" [Gabriel García Márquez In Evil Hour]
"A husband is what is left of the lover after the nerve has been extracted" [Helen Rowland A Guide to Men] [Honoré de Balzac The Physiology of Marriage]
"Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper,"
"Thy head, thy sovereign; one that cares for thee,"
"And for thy maintenance commits his body"
"To painful labour both by sea and land" [William Shakespeare The Taming of the Shrew]
"An archaeologist is the best husband any woman can have; the older she gets, the more interested he is in her" [Agatha Christie]
"Being a husband is a full-time job. That is why so many husbands fail. They cannot give their entire attention to it" [Arnold Bennett The Title]
"An early-rising man ... a good spouse but a bad husband" [Gabriel García Márquez In Evil Hour]
"A husband is what is left of the lover after the nerve has been extracted" [Helen Rowland A Guide to Men] [Honoré de Balzac The Physiology of Marriage]
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
husband
verbThe American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
мъжсъпруг
marit
manželmužhospodařit
mandægtemandhusbondøkonomisere
edzo
شوهر
aviomiesmies
पति
mužsuprug
férjjól gazdálkodik
maritosponsosposo
suami
eiginmaðureiginmaîurtreina; halda vel á
夫旦那主人
남편
maritus
gyvulininkystėpagalvėlėsutuoktinistausotivyras
laulāts draugssaglabātvīrs
soţ
hospodáriťmanželmuž
soprogmož
mužsuprugмужсупруг
manmake
mume
สามี
чоловік
شوہر
chồng
husband
[ˈhʌzbənd]B. VT [+ resources] → administrar bien, gestionar bien
you must husband your strength → debes dosificar tus fuerzas
you must husband your strength → debes dosificar tus fuerzas
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
husband
n → Ehemann m; my/her etc husband → mein/ihr etc Mann; give my best wishes to your husband → grüßen Sie Ihren Mann or Gatten (form) → von mir; husband and wife → Mann und Frau; they are husband and wife → sie sind Eheleute or verheiratet
vt strength, resources → haushalten or Haus halten mit, sparsam umgehen mit
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
husband
(ˈhazbənd) noun a man to whom a woman is married.
verb to spend or use carefully, a little at a time. He needs to husband his strength.
ˈhusbandry noun management, especially of a farm or animals.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
husband
→ زَوْجٌ manžel mand Ehemann σύζυγος marido aviomies mari muž marito 夫 남편 echtgenoot ektemann mąż marido муж man สามี koca chồng 丈夫Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
husband
n. esposo, marido.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
Collins Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
husband
n esposo, maridoEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.