goodwife

G2O1O1D2W4I1F4E1

noun

A female head of a household.

“Goodwife Hopkins”

Similar
Mrs
OriginMiddle English goodwyf →
Scrabble 16
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Meanings

goodwife1

noungoodwife (plural goodwives)

plural goodwives · alternative Goodwife

  1. obsoleteA female head of a household.

    "O my lord the Sultan," said the other [the Wazir], "verily women be weakly of wits, and haply this goodwife cometh hither to complain before thee against her goodman or some of her people."

    1885–1888, Richard F[rancis] Burton, transl. and editor, Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night […], Shammar edition, volume (please specify the volume), [London]: […] Burton Club […], →OCLC
  2. obsoleteA title of respect for a woman.

    Goodwife Hopkins

    Synonyms: Mrs

Goodwife2

noun

alternative goodwife

  1. obsoleteA title of respect for a woman

    Goodwife Hopkins

    Synonyms: Mrs

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA title of respect for a woman.

Similar
Mrs

nounA title of respect for a woman

Similar
Mrs

Origin

  1. Middle Englishgoodwyf
  2. Englishgoodwife

From Middle English goodwyf, godwyf, godwif, equivalent to good + wife.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

goodwife. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/goodwife

MLA

“goodwife.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/goodwife. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “goodwife,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/goodwife.

Source: goodwife on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.