Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

goodwife

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.27 in modern English

Syllables: good-wife
IPA

16

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A female head of a household.

Obsolete

noun

A title of respect for a woman.

Obsolete

noun

A title of respect for a woman

Obsolete

Example Sentences

""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.""
"Goodwife Hopkins"

Etymology

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

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: goodwyf

Usage

Obsolete

Inflected Forms

goodwives (plural)

Derived Forms

goody

Frequently Paired Words

goodman

Synonyms

Mrs

Questions

What does goodwife mean?: A female head of a household.
Where does goodwife come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce goodwife

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “goodwife”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “goodwife” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.