husband

English Online Dictionary. What means husband‎? What does husband mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English husbonde, housbonde, from Old English hūsbonda, hūsbunda (“male head of a household, householder, master of a house”), from Old Norse húsbóndi (“master of house”), from hús (“house”) + bóndi (“dweller, householder”), equivalent to house +‎ bond (“serf, slave", originally, "dweller”).

Bond in turn represents a formation derived from the present participle of West Scandinavian búa, East Scandinavian bôa = to build, plow; compare German bauen, der Bauende. Cognate with Icelandic húsbóndi (“head of household”), Faroese húsbóndi (“husband”), Norwegian husbond (“head of household, husband”), Swedish husbonde (“master”), Danish husbond (“husband”) (< Old Danish husbonde).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhʌz.bənd/

Noun

husband (plural husbands)

1. A man in a marriage or marital relationship, especially in relation to his spouse.

   Synonym: (endearing) hubby
2. (UK) A manager of property; one who has the care of another's belongings, owndom, or interests; a steward; an economist.
3. (archaic) A prudent or frugal manager.
4. (somewhat dated) The master of a house; the head of a family; a householder.
5. A tiller of the ground; a husbandman.
6. The male of a pair of animals.
7. A large cushion with arms meant to support a person in the sitting position; a husband pillow.

8. (UK dialectal) A polled tree; a pollard.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:husband

Hypernyms

• wedder
• partner (may or may not be married)
• spouse (may also apply to wife)

Coordinate terms

• wife

Derived terms

Descendants

• ⇒ Chinese: 黑漆板凳 (hēiqī bǎndèng) (obsolete)
• → Japanese: ハズバンド (hazubando)
  • ⇒ English: husbando

Translations

Verb

husband (third-person singular simple present husbands, present participle husbanding, simple past and past participle husbanded)

1. (transitive) To manage or administer carefully and frugally; use to the best advantage; economise.
2. (transitive) To conserve.
   • 1719, Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe

     ...I found pens, ink, and paper, and I husbanded them to the utmost; and I shall show that while my ink lasted, I kept things very exact, but after that was gone I could not, for I could not make any ink by any means that I could devise.

3. (transitive, obsolete) To till; cultivate; farm; nurture.
4. (transitive, archaic) To provide with a husband.
5. (transitive) To engage or act as a husband to; assume the care of or responsibility for; accept as one's own.

Derived terms

• husband up
• husbandable
• husbandry

Translations

Middle English

Noun

husband (plural husbands)

1. Alternative form of husbonde

Swedish

Etymology

hus (“house”) +‎ band (“band”)

Noun

husband n

1. a group of musicians who regularly play live in a TV show

Declension