husband

See also: Husband

English

Etymology

From Middle English husbonde, housbonde, from Old English hūsbonda, hūsbunda (“male head of a household, householder, master of a house”), from Old Norse húsbóndi (“master of house”), from hús (“house”) + bóndi (“dweller, householder”), equivalent to house +‎ bond (“serf, slave", originally, "dweller”).

Bond in turn represents a formation derived from the present participle of West Scandinavian búa, East Scandinavian bôa = to build, plow; compare German bauen, der Bauende. Cognate with Icelandic húsbóndi (“head of household”), Faroese húsbóndi (“husband”), Norwegian husbond (“head of household, husband”), Swedish husbonde (“master”), Danish husbond (“husband”) (< Old Danish husbonde).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhʌz.bənd/

• Audio (US):

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• Audio (UK):

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• Audio:

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Noun

husband (plural husbands)

1. A man in a marriage or marital relationship, especially in relation to his spouse.

   Synonym: (endearing) hubby

   You should start dating so you can find a suitable husband.

   • 1765–1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, (please specify |book=I to IV), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC:

     The husband and wife are one person in law.

   • 1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter I, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, →OCLC; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co., […], [1933], →OCLC, page 0016:

     A great bargain also had been […] the arm-chair in which Bunting now sat forward, staring into the dull, small fire. In fact, that arm-chair had been an extravagance of Mrs. Bunting. She had wanted her husband to be comfortable after the day's work was done, and she had paid thirty-seven shillings for the chair.

   • 1921, Ben Travers, chapter 6, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:

     But Sophia's mother was not the woman to brook defiance. After a few moments' vain remonstrance her husband complied. His manner and appearance were suggestive of a satiated sea-lion.

2. (UK) A manager of property; one who has the care of another's belongings, owndom, or interests; a steward; an economist.
3. (archaic) A prudent or frugal manager.
   • 1645, Thomas Fuller, Good Thoughts in Bad Times, Occasional Meditations: V:

     God knows how little time is left me, and may I be a good husband, to improve the short remnant thereof.

   • 1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC, pages 273–274:

     [S]o I went and fetch’d a good Dram of Rum, and gave him; for I had been ſo good a Husband of my Rum, that I had a great deal left: When he had drank it, I made him take the two Fowling-Pieces, which we always carry’d, and load them with large Swan-Shot, as big as ſmall Piſtol Bullets; then I took four Muſkets, and loaded them with two Slugs, and five ſmall Bullets each; and my two Piſtols I loaded with a Brace of Bullets each; I hung my great Sword as uſual, naked by my Side, and gave Friday his Hatchet.

4. (somewhat dated) The master of a house; the head of a family; a householder.
5. A tiller of the ground; a husbandman.
   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto III”, in The Faerie Queene. […], part II (books IV–VI), London: […] [Richard Field] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC:

     […] a withered tree, through husbands toyle,
     Is often seene full freshly to have florisht […]

   • 1627, G[eorge] H[akewill], An Apologie of the Power and Prouidence of God in the Gouernment of the World. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Iohn Lichfield and William Turner, […], →OCLC:

     The painfull husband plowing up his ground, Shall finde all fret and rust both pikes and shields

   • 1681 September 9 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for 30 August 1681]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], 2nd edition, volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […]; and sold by John and Arthur Arch, […], published 1819, →OCLC:

     He is the neatest husband for curious ordering his domestick and field accommodations.

6. The male of a pair of animals.
   • 1697, Virgil, “The Third Book of the Georgics”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:

     Husband of the Herd

7. A large cushion with arms meant to support a person in the sitting position; a husband pillow.

   While reading her book, Sally leaned back against her husband, wishing it were the human kind.

8. (UK dialectal) A polled tree; a pollard.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:husband

Hypernyms

• wedder
• partner (may or may not be married)
• spouse (may also apply to wife)

Coordinate terms

• wife

Derived terms

• brother-husband
• co-husband
• cyberhusband
• ex-husband
• gingerbread husband
• gusband
• house husband
• hubby
• husbandage
• husband and wife
• husbander
• husbandhood
• husband-in-law
• husbandish
• husbandless
• husbandlike
• husbandly
• husbandman
• husbando
• husbandry
• husbandship
• husband stitch
• husbandwoman
• husbian
• husman
• Ineffable Husbands
• jealous husbands problem
• merhusband
• midhusband
• retired husband syndrome
• ship's husband
• trophy husband
• wasband
• welcome-home-husband-though-never-so-drunk
• work husband
• Younghusband

 

Descendants

• ⇒ Chinese: 黑漆板凳 (hēiqī bǎndèng) (obsolete)
• → Japanese: ハズバンド (hazubando)
  • ⇒ English: husbando

Translations

male partner in marriage

• Abkhaz: ахаҵа (axacʼa), аԥшәма (apŝʷma)
• Afar: baqala
• Afrikaans: eggenoot (af)
• Aghwan: 𐕒𐕡𐕚𐔱𐕒 (usbo)
• Akkadian: 𒁮 (mutu)
• Alabama: innaani
• Albanian: burrë (sq)
• Alutor: ӄылавул (qəlavul)
• Ambonese Malay: paitua
• Amharic: ባል (am) (bal)
• Arabic: زَوْج m (zawj), بَعْل (ar) m (baʕl)

  Egyptian Arabic: جوز m (gōz), زوج m (zōg) (rare)

  Gulf Arabic: ريل m (rayil), زوج m (zōj)

  Hijazi Arabic: زوج m (zōj), جوز m (jōz) (rare)

• Armenian: ամուսին (hy) (amusin), մարդ (hy) (mard)
• Aromanian: bãrbat (roa-rup)
• Assamese: গিৰি (giri), পৈ (poi), স্বামী (sami)
• Asturian: esposu (ast) m, home (ast) m
• Azerbaijani: ər (az), zövc
• Bakhtiari: شی (ši), میره (mēre)
• Bashkir: ир (ir)
• Basque: senar (eu), gizon (eu)
• Belarusian: муж m (muž), сужэ́нец m (sužénjec)
• Bengali: স্বামী (bn) (śami), শওহর (bn) (śoōhor), জওজ (bn) (joōj), পতি (bn) (poti)
• Borôro: oredu
• Breton: gwaz (br) m
• Bulgarian: мъж (bg) m (mǎž), съпру́г (bg) m (sǎprúg)
• Burmese: လင် (my) (lang), (formal) ခင်ပွန်း (my) (hkangpwan:)
• Carpathian Rusyn: хлоп m (xlop), муж m (muž), ма́нжел m (mánžel)
• Catalan: marit (ca) m
• Cebuano: bana
• Chechen: мар (mar)
• Chickasaw: i̠hattak
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 丈夫 (zoeng⁶ fu¹), 老公 (lou⁵ gung¹), 先生 (sin¹ saang¹)

  Dungan: нанжын (nanřɨn), җонфу (žonfu), лохан (lohan)

  Eastern Min: 老公 (lâu-gŭng)

  Gan: 老公 (lau³ gung)

  Hakka: 丈夫 (chhong-fû), 先生 (sîn-sâng)

  Hokkien: 翁 (zh-min-nan) (ang), 翁婿 (ang-sài), (informal) 查埔人 (zh-min-nan) (tsa-poo-lâng), 丈夫 (tiōng-hu), 先生 (zh-min-nan) (sian-seⁿ/sian-siⁿ)

  Jin: 老漢兒／老汉儿 (lau² hanr³)

  Mandarin: 丈夫 (zh) (zhàngfu), 老公 (zh), 先生 (zh) (xiānsheng) (polite), 愛人／爱人 (zh) (àirén) (PRC), 相公 (zh) (xiànggōng) (literary)

  Northern Min: 老公 (sē-é̤ng)

  Teochew: 翁 (ang¹), ^{(please verify)} [script needed] (dai⁶ lou⁶)

  Wu: 丈夫 (⁶zan-fu), 愛人／爱人 (⁵e-gnin), 先生 (¹shi-san₁), 男人

• Choctaw: hatak
• Chukchi: ыʼвэӄуч (yʼvėquč)
• Coptic:

  Bohairic: ϩⲁⲓ m (hai)

  Fayyumic: ϩⲉⲓ m (hei)

  Sahidic: ϩⲁⲓ m (hai)

• Cornish: gour m
• Crimean Tatar: aqay, qoca, refiq
• Czech: manžel (cs) m, muž (cs) m, choť (cs) m
• Dalmatian: marait m
• Danish: mand (da) c, ægtemand (da) c, husbond c (antiquated, formal)
• Darkinjung: mullamang
• Dutch: man (nl) m, echtgenoot (nl) m
• Eastern Cham: ꨤꨆꨬ (lakei), ꨚꨔꩃ (pathang)
• Egyptian: (hj)
• Erzya: мирде (mirďe), пола (pola)
• Esperanto: edzo (eo)
• Estonian: mees (et), abikaasa (et)
• Ewe: atsu, srɔ̃ŋutsu
• Faroese: maður (fo) m, ektamaður m, maki m
• Finnish: mies (fi), aviomies (fi)
• French: mari (fr) m, époux (fr) m
• Friulian: omp m, om m, marît m, cristian m
• Galician: marido (gl) m, esposo (gl) m, home (gl) m
• Ge'ez: በዓል (bäʿal)
• Georgian: ქმარი (kmari)
• German: Ehemann (de) m, Mann (de) m, Gemahl (de) m, Gatte (de) m, Ehegatte (de) m
• Gothic: 𐌰𐌱𐌰 m (aba)
• Greek: σύζυγος (el) m (sýzygos), άνδρας (el) m (ándras)

  Ancient: γαμέτης m (gamétēs)

• Greenlandic: ui
• Guaraní: me, ména (gn)
• Gujarati: પતિ m (pati), નાવ m (nāv)
• Haitian Creole: mari
• Hausa: mijī̀
• Hawaiian: kāne
• Hebrew: בַּעַל (he) m (baʿal), אִישׁ (he) m (ʾish)
• Higaonon: asawa
• Hiligaynon: bana
• Hindi: पति (hi) m (pati), शौहर (hi) m (śauhar), ख़ावंद m (xāvand), मर्द (hi) m (mard), खाविंद (hi) (khāvind), खामिंद (hi) m (khāmind), स्वामि (hi) m (svāmi), स्वामी (hi) m (svāmī), धनी (hi) m (dhanī), पती (hi) m (patī), ज़ौज m (zauj)
• Hittite: 𒇽𒀸 (LÚ-as)
• Hungarian: férj (hu)
• Icelandic: eiginmaður (is), maður (is) m, bóndi (is) m (archaic)
• Ido: spozulo (io)
• Igala: ọ́kọ
• Igbo: di (ig)
• Indonesian: suami (id)
• Ingush: мар (mar), цӏен-да (cʼen-da)
• Interlingua: marito, sposo, sponso
• Irish: fear (ga) m, fear céile m
• Istriot: mareî m
• Italian: marito (it) m
• Izon: yeí
• Japanese: 夫 (ja) (おっと, otto), 旦那 (ja) (だんな, danna), 亭主 (ja) (ていしゅ, teishu), 主人 (ja) (しゅじん, shujin) (humble), ハズバンド (ja) (hazubando), ハズ (ja) (hazu), ご主人 (ja) (ごしゅじん, go-shujin) (honorific)
• Javanese: laki, bojo lanang, garwa kakung
• Jeju: 남펜 (nampen), 서방 (seobang)
• Kamba: mundu ume
• Kannada: ಪತಿ (kn) (pati)
• Kashmiri: خانہٕ دار (ks) (khānhụ dār), خاوَنٛد (ks) (khāvand), بَرتھا (ks) (barthā), روٗن (ks) (rūn), اوش (ks) (ōś), گَروول (ks) (garvōl)
• Kazakh: ер (kk) (er), күйеу (küieu), жұбай (jūbai)
• Khmer: ប្ដី (km) (pdəy)
• Kikuyu: morume
• Kis: msacha
• Komi-Permyak: айка (ajka)
• Korean: 남편(男便) (ko) (nampyeon), 양반(兩班) (ko) (yangban), 량반(兩班) (ko) (ryangban) (North Korea)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: مێرد (ckb) (mêrd), شوو (ckb) (şû)

  Laki: مێردە (ku) (mêrde), شۊ (şü)

  Northern Kurdish: mêr (ku) m

  Southern Kurdish: شۊ (şü)

• Kyrgyz: эр (ky) (er), күйөө (ky) (küyöö)
• Laboya: lai
• Lao: ຜົວ (phūa), ສາມີ (sā mī), ສະຫວາມິ (sa wā mi), ພັດສະດາ (phat sa dā), ປະຕິ (pa ti)
• Latin: marītus (la) m, coniunx (la) m, vir (la) m
• Latvian: vīrs (lv) m, dzīvesbiedrs m
• Laz: ქომოჯი (komoci)
• Lezgi: гъуьл (ġül)
• Lithuanian: vyras (lt) m, sutuoktinis (lt) m, pats (lt) m (obsolete)
• Lolopo: capor
• Louisiana Creole French: mari
• Low German:

  German Low German: Ehmann m, Mann (nds) m

• Lü: ᦕᦷ (ṗho)
• Luhya: omsecha
• Luo: chuora, jaod
• Luxembourgish: Mann (lb) m
• Macedonian: маж (mk) m (maž), со́пруг m (sóprug)
• Maguindanao: kaluma
• Malagasy: ibaban-tsaiky, lahy (mg)
• Malay: suami (ms), laki (ms)
• Malayalam: ഭർത്താവ് (bhaṟttāvŭ)
• Maltese: raġel (mt) m
• Manchu: ᡝᡳᡤᡝᠨ (eigen)
• Mansaka: bana
• Maore Comorian: mume class 1/2, mme class 1/2
• Maori: hoa tāne, tāne (mi), hoa rangatira
• Maranao: kawing
• Marathi: नवरा m (navrā), पती m (patī)
• Meru: murume
• Middle English: husbonde
• Mingrelian: ქომოჯი (komoǯi)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: нөхөр (mn) (nöxör)

  Mongolian: ᠨᠥᠬᠦᠷ (nökür)

• Mwani: nlume
• Navajo: hahastiin
• Neapolitan: marito m
• Nepali: पति m (pati), श्रीमान (śrīmān)
• Ngazidja Comorian: mndru-mme class 1/2
• Norman: bouonhoumme m
• Northern Sami: boadnji
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: ektemann (no) m, mann (no) m, husbond m

  Nynorsk: ektemann m, mann (nn) m, husbond m

• Nuosu: ꃥꌋ (vip si)
• Occitan: marit (oc) m
• Odia: ସ୍ୱାମୀ (swāmi)
• Ojibwe: niwiidigemaagan
• Old Church Slavonic:

  Cyrillic: мѫжь m (mǫžĭ)

  Glagolitic: ⰿⱘⰶⱐ m (mǫžĭ)

• Old East Slavic: мужь m (mužĭ)
• Old English: wer (ang) m
• Old French: mari m
• Ossetian: лӕг (læg), мой (moj) (Digor), мойнӕ (mojnæ) (Iron)
• Ottoman Turkish: قوجه (koca)
• Pa'o Karen: ဝါ
• Paicî: éa
• Pali: bhattu m
• Pashto: خاوند (ps) m (xāwand), مړو m (mṛo), مېړه m (meṛᶕ), سړی (ps) m (saṛay)
• Persian:

  Dari: شَوْهَر (fa) (šawhar), زَوْج (fa) (zawj)

  Iranian Persian: شُوْهَر (fa) (šowhar), شو (fa) (šu) (dialectal or archaic), شی (fa) (ši) (dialectal), شوی (fa) (šuy) (archaic), زُوْج (fa) (zowj)

• Plautdietsch: Maun m
• Polish: mąż (pl) m pers, małżonek (pl) m pers
• Portuguese: marido (pt) m, esposo (pt) m
• Punjabi: ਪਤੀ m (patī)
• Quechua: qusa (qu)
• Romani: rrom m
• Romanian: soț (ro) m
• Romansch: um m, cunsort m (Sutsilvan)
• Russian: муж (ru) m (muž), супру́г (ru) m (suprúg)
• S'gaw Karen: ဝၤ (wā)
• Saho: bacla
• Sanskrit: पति (sa) m (pati), स्वामिन् (sa) m (svāmin), नाथ (sa) m (nātha)
• Sardinian: madiru m
• Scots: guidman
• Scottish Gaelic: fear-cèile m, fear-pòsda f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: му̑ж m, су̏пруг m

  Roman: mȗž (sh) m, sȕprug (sh) m

• Shan: ၽူဝ် (shn) (phǒ)
• Shor: эр (er)
• Sicilian: maritu (scn) m
• Sinhalese: සැමියා (sæmiyā), ස්වාමිපුරුෂයා (swāmipuruṣayā), පුරුෂයා (si) (puruṣayā)
• Slovak: manžel (sk) m, muž (sk) m
• Slovene: mọ̑ž (sl) m, soprọ̑g (sl) m
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: cłowjek m, muž m

  Upper Sorbian: muž (hsb) m

• Southern Altai: ӧбӧгӧн (öbögön), эр (er)
• Spanish: marido (es) m, esposo (es) m
• Sumerian: 𒁮 (DAM)
• Sundanese: carogé, salaki (su)
• Svan: ჭაშ (č̣aš)
• Swahili: mume (sw)
• Swedish: make (sv) c, man (sv) c
• Tagalog: asawa (tl), bana (tl), lalaking asawa, esposo
• Tajik: шавҳар (tg) (šavhar), завҷ (zavj)
• Tamil: அம்படையன் (ampaṭaiyaṉ), கணவன் (ta) (kaṇavaṉ)
• Taos: sə́onena
• Tarantino: marite m
• Tatar: ир (tt) (ir)
• Telugu: మొగుడు (te) (moguḍu), భర్త (te) (bharta), పెనిమిటి (te) (penimiṭi)
• Ternate: raka
• Tetum: la'en
• Thai: สามี (th) (sǎa-mii), ผัว (th) (pǔua)
• Tibetan: ཁྱོ་ག (khyo ga)
• Tigrinya: በዓል ቤት m (bäʿal bet)
• Tlingit: x̱úx̱
• Tocharian B: pets
• Tupinambá: mena
• Turkish: koca (tr), eş (tr)
• Turkmen: är
• Tuvan: ашак (aşak)
• Udi: ишкъар (išq̇ar), ишу (išu)
• Ugaritic: 𐎎𐎚 (mt)
• Ukrainian: чолові́к (uk) m (čolovík), муж m (muž)
• Urdu: شَوہَر m (śauhar), پَتی m (patī), خاوَنْد m (xāvand), خاوِنْد m (xāvind), مِیاں m (miyā̃), سَرْتاج m (sartāj), خَصَم m (xasam), زَوج m (zauj), مَرْد m (mard)
• Uyghur: ئەر (ug) (er)
• Uzbek: er (uz)
• Venetian: marìo (vec) m
• Vietnamese: chồng (vi)
• Volapük: (male or female) matan (vo), (male) himatan (vo)
• Walloon: ome (wa) m
• Welsh: gŵr (cy) m
• Western Cham: ڤسآڠ
• White Hmong: txiv
• Yagnobi: вир (vir)
• Yakut: эр (er)
• Yámana: tuku
• Yiddish: מאַן m (man)
• Yoruba: ọkọ
• Yucatec Maya: íicham
• Zazaki: mêrde (diq)
• Zealandic: man m, vent m
• Zhuang: boh
• Zulu: umyeni class 1/2, indoda (zu) class 9/10, umkhwenyana class 1/2
• ǃXóõ: tâa a̰a

cushion

• Lithuanian: pagalvėlė f

Verb

husband (third-person singular simple present husbands, present participle husbanding, simple past and past participle husbanded)

1. (transitive) To manage or administer carefully and frugally; use to the best advantage; economise.
   • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iv]:

     And for my meanes, I'll husband them so well,
     They shall go farre with little.

2. (transitive) To conserve.
   • 1719, Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe

     ...I found pens, ink, and paper, and I husbanded them to the utmost; and I shall show that while my ink lasted, I kept things very exact, but after that was gone I could not, for I could not make any ink by any means that I could devise.

3. (transitive, obsolete) To till; cultivate; farm; nurture.
   • 1672 May 29 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for 19 May 1672]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], 2nd edition, volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […]; and sold by John and Arthur Arch, […], published 1819, →OCLC:

     Land so trim and rarely husbanded.

4. (transitive, archaic) To provide with a husband.
   • 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], page 116, column 2:

     Thinke you, I am no ſtronger then my Sex
     Being ſo Father'd, and ſo Husbanded?

5. (transitive) To engage or act as a husband to; assume the care of or responsibility for; accept as one's own.

Derived terms

• husband up
• husbandable
• husbandry

Translations

to economise

• Czech: dobře hospodařit impf
• Danish: spare på
• Finnish: hoitaa säästäväisesti, säästää (fi)
• Galician: gobernar (gl)
• Swedish: hushålla med

to conserve

• Arabic: زَوْج m (zawj)
• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} zuinig beheren
• French: ménager (fr)
• Greek: διαχειρίζομαι (el) (diacheirízomai)
• Ido: sparar (io)
• Italian: dosare (it)
• Maori: whakamoamoa
• Norwegian: bevare (no)
• Persian: شوهر (fa) (šuhar)
• Portuguese: economizar (pt), poupar (pt), conservar (pt)
• Romanian: păstra (ro), conserva (ro)
• Spanish: ahorrar (es), manejar con economía
• Telugu: పోషణ (te) (pōṣaṇa)
• Turkish: korumak (tr), özenle kullanmak

Middle English

Noun

husband (plural husbands)

1. Alternative form of husbonde

Swedish

Etymology

hus (“house”) +‎ band (“band”)

Noun

husband n

1. a group of musicians who regularly play live in a TV show

Declension

Declension of husband
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	husband	husbandet	husband	husbanden
Genitive	husbands	husbandets	husbands	husbandens