housewife
housewife Lexical Profile
housewife Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A married woman whose primary occupation is caring for her family, managing household affairs, and doing domestic work rather than being employed outside the home.
"During the post-war era, advertising campaigns heavily targeted the suburban housewife as the primary consumer of household appliances."
A small, portable case or pouch holding sewing materials such as needles, thread, and buttons, historically issued to soldiers and sailors (often pronounced 'hussif').
"The infantryman opened his canvas housewife to mend a torn button on his tunic before morning inspection."
Word Nuance & Usage
In contemporary usage, the gender-neutral term 'homemaker' or 'stay-at-home parent' is often preferred in formal and institutional contexts.
• Rhymes for housewife
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English 'huswif', a compound of Old English 'hus' (house) and 'wif' (woman or wife), originally denoting the female head of a household.