Meanings
nounbamboo wife (plural bamboo wives)
plural bamboo wives
- In East Asia and Southeast Asia, a hollow bamboo bolster roughly the size of a human body, embraced by a person while sleeping during hot weather because its open structure exposes the body to cooling air flow.
Synonyms: Dutch wife
Synonyms & antonyms
nounIn East Asia and Southeast Asia, a hollow bamboo bolster roughly the size of a human body, embraced by a person while sleeping during hot weather because its open structure exposes the body to cooling air flow.
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Origin
Calque from Chinese 竹夫人 (zhúfūrén).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
bamboo wife. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bamboo%20wife
MLA
“bamboo wife.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bamboo%20wife. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bamboo wife,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bamboo%20wife.
Source: bamboo wife on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.