Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

dutch wife

/ˌdʌtʃ ˈwaɪf/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.35 in modern English

Syllables: dutch wife
IPA: /ˌdʌtʃ ˈwaɪf/

21

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

1

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A long body-length bolster (pillow) that can be held or wrapped around one's body while sleeping.

noun

In East Asia and Southeast Asia, a wicker or bamboo tube the size of a person for use in the bed. In the summer heat, the open bamboo structure is cooler than fabric pillows or sheets. The Dutch wife is embraced by the user, exposing the maximum amount of the body to cooling breezes.

Example Sentences

"His eyes wide with surprise and fear, he clutched tightly the bolster — sweat- absorbing bedfellow of sleepers in the East — known as a Dutch wife. [...] "What do you mean? Who are you?" Maniam's great eyes, his black skin oiled with sweat, Maniam's hands pudgily clutching his Dutch wife."

Etymology

Compound of Dutch (“inferior substitute”) + wife.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˌdʌtʃ ˈwaɪf/
British English: /ˌdʌtʃ ˈwaɪf/

Inflected Forms

Dutch wives (plural)

Synonyms

body pillow dakimakura love pillow bamboo wife bolster

Rhymes With

life high on life wife bag for life knife under the knife new lease on life trophy wife oyster knife strife fife rife

Questions

How do you pronounce dutch wife?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌdʌtʃ ˈwaɪf/.
What does dutch wife mean?: A long body-length bolster (pillow) that can be held or wrapped around one's body while sleeping.
Where does dutch wife come from?: Compound of Dutch (“inferior substitute”) + wife.

How to pronounce dutch wife

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “dutch wife”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌdʌtʃ ˈwaɪf/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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