wifelet

plural wifelets

1. colloquialendearingA wife.

   Well, speak to your little wifelet, your little bunny, for God's sake.

   1962 December, Edward Albee, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?: A Play, New York, N.Y.: Atheneum Publishers, →OCLC; Pocket Cardinal edition, New York, N.Y.: Pocket Books, March 1968 (13th printing), →OCLC, Act 3 (The Exorcism), page 212

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   Annie, wifelet, let me tell you of one of my foreign flirtations—one that I have never yet even hinted to you.

   1857 June, “Miss Caley”, in Putnam’s Monthly Magazine of American Literature, Science, and Art, volume IX, number LIV, New York, N.Y.: Miller & Company, […]; London: Sampson Low, Son & Co., →OCLC, page 586, column 1

   The third of veils again,— / So telleth Little Love,— / Is private in its skein, / For her exactest fane, / And for her special dove. / [...] / ’Tis made of wax of bees, / Of fairy wax, fay bees, / And in its charmful frieze, / Letteth no public breeze / Canvass the wifelet’s glees.

   1857, J[ames] J[ohn] G[arth] W[ilkinson], “The Fairy Veils”, in Improvisations from the Spirit, London: W. White, […]; Manchester: Dunnill and Palmer, →OCLC, pages 219 and 220

   As on a journey, when the ship is lying at anchor, thou mayest land to take in water, and gather shells and the like upon the shore, but must keep the vessel still in view, and when the steersman beckons, must leave all else at once to come on board; so, too, in life's pilgrimage, if wifelet or little one be given thee for a while, it may be well, but see to it that thou art ready, when the pilot calls, to go at once, and turn not to look back.

   1876, William Wolfe Capes, quoting Epictetus (translated), “The Literary Currents of the Age”, in The Roman Empire of the Second Century: Or The Age of the Antonines (Epochs of Ancient History), London: Longmans, Green, and Co., →OCLC, page 174

   'You are most awfully fetching to-night—you look so jolly mysterious somehow,' he said joyously, putting his cheek against hers. 'Give me a kiss, wifelet.' She gave him one. She would have given him a dozen of the trivial things had he asked for them! Then she laid her hand on his.

   1906, Flora Annie Steel, chapter XXVI, in A Sovereign Remedy, London: William Heinemann, →OCLC, page 318

   'My own little wifelet.' Harriet hung her head. 'Why not Sally-Anne? Why me?' Why indeed, he wondered, looking at the big blonde child who fate had proclaimed should be Mrs Grenderlyn?

   1990, Miranda Seymour, The Reluctant Devil: A Cautionary Tale, London: Heinemann, →ISBN; republished London: Mandarin, 1991, →ISBN, page 90

   Synonyms: wifekin, wifeling, wifelkin, wifie

2. broadlyinformalA wife who is of small stature.

   In stature the Manlet was dwarfish— / No burly big Blunderbore he: / And he wearily gazed on the crawfish / His Wifelet had dressed for his tea.

   1893, Lewis Carroll [pseudonym; Charles Lutwidge Dodgson], “To the Rescue!”, in Sylvie and Bruno Concluded, London; New York, N.Y.: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, page 265

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   Old Kit is a painter, and so is his wife, or rather his wifelet, for "wife" always sounds too sober and matronly a word for so dainty a pocket Venus.

   1893, F. Mary Wilson, “A Landscape by Constable”, in Harper's Magazine, volume 87, page 455

3. broadlyinformalA long-term girlfriend; a mistress (the “other woman” in an extramarital relationship).First known use 1960s

   Now 83, he [Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath] has a fortune of more than £150 million and famously lives on the estate with several girlfriends who he refers to as ‘wifelets’.

   2016 June 2, Alice Vincent, “We hope to move Glastonbury to Longleat by 2019, says Michael Eavis”, in Chris Evans, editor, The Daily Telegraph, London: Telegraph Media Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 27 Jul 2019

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   The Marquess [Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath], now 74, who is best known for his remarkably unorthodox dress sense, his pornographic murals and his series of wifelets, is fixing me with a priapic eye while slurping wine from a beer glass. "I need some more," he declares loudly. "Wine?" I inquire. "No, wifelets, of course."

   2007 March 30, Petronella Wyatt, “The Marquess of Bath – on the prowl for ‘wifelet 76’”, in Daily Mail, London: DMG Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 04 Apr 2016

   The multi-millionaire [Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath] named his numerous girlfriends wifelets when he embarked on his "polyamorous" lifestyle shortly after marrying in 1969. [...] The trouble between two of the women erupted on Sunday night as a fight broke out in his Wiltshire stately home, Longleat – famed for its safari park lions. As the wifelets fought for his affections Lord Bath retired to his bedroom, which is decorated with murals inspired by the Kama Sutra, the Indian sex manual.

   2011 June 11, Sara Dixon, “Police called over love-tussle for the Loins of Longleat”, in Hugh Whittow, editor, Daily Express, London: Express Newspapers, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 27 Sep 2015

   The polyamorous lifestyle of Alexander Thynn, the 7th Marquess, has been scarcely concealed by the Marquess himself and well documented in the press, who had sunk their teeth into the latest episode just weeks before this ride. The nose of a well-proportioned lady with the remarkably appropriate name of Trudi Juggernauth-Sharma, believed to be wifelet number 68, allegedly came into close physical contact with the fist of Amanda Doyle, an Irish singer and also a wifelet (sequential number unknown), after an exchange of words about the prospects of Mr Thynn, 79 at the time, fathering a child with Ms Doyle.

   2013, Richard Guise, “Stage 6: Prohibited Activities”, in A Wiggly Way through England, [s.l.]: Richard Guise, →ISBN, page 71

   Synonyms: bit on the side, concubine, doxy, dulcinea, goomah, leman, loon, minx