wifely

English

Alternative forms

• wively (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English wifly, wyfly, from Old English wīflīc (“womanly, wifely”), from Proto-Germanic *wībalīkaz (“wifely”). Cognate with Scots wifely (“womanly, wifely”), Dutch wijflijk, wijfelijk, German weiblich (“feminine, female”). By surface analysis, wife +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwaɪf.li/

Adjective

wifely (comparative wifelier, superlative wifeliest)

1. Of, befitting, pertaining to, or characteristic of a wife or wives.

   Synonyms: wifey, wifish, uxorial

   Hyponyms: housewifey, housewifely, housewifish

   • 1869, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, “On the Shelf”, in Little Women: […], 2nd part, Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, →OCLC, pages 216–217:

     Being a domestic man, John decidedly missed the wifely attentions he had been accustomed to receive; but, as he adored his babies, he cheerfully relinquished his comfort for a time, supposing, with masculine ignorance, that peace would soon be restored.

   • 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, “The Spirit of Life”, in She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC, pages 283–284:

     '[…] Behold!' and she took his hand and placed it upon her shapely head, and then bent herself slowly down till one knee for an instant touched the ground—'Behold! in token of submission do I bow me to my lord! Behold!' and she kissed him on the lips, 'in token of my wifely love do I kiss my lord. […]'

   • 2025 September 21, Carolyn Hax, “Carolyn Hax: Spouse opts out of wife’s extravagant birthday demands”, in The Washington Post‎^[1], Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 21 September 2025:

     From here, I am trusting you and your therapist, because the wifely hot air and gaslighting don’t square with “Outside of this issue, our relationship works.”

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:wifely.

Derived terms

• unwifeliness
• unwifely
• wifeliness
• wifely duties
• non-wifely

Translations

befitting a wife

• Italian: mogliesco (it)
• Middle English: wyfly