hussy
English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From earlier hussive, hussif, the regular evolution of Middle English houswyf (“housewife”), equivalent to house + wife. Modern housewife is a restoration of the compound (and thus is a doublet), after its component parts had become unrecognisable through regular phonetic change, as well as gradual negative senses and historical factors.
The traditional pronunciation of the word is /ˈhʌzi/; the pronunciation with /s/ is a spelling pronunciation.
Pronunciation
[edit]- IPA(key): /ˈhʌsi/, /ˈhʌzi/
Audio (US): (file) Audio (Southern England): (file) - Rhymes: -ʌsi, Rhymes: -ʌzi
Noun
[edit]hussy (plural hussies)
- (obsolete) A housewife or housekeeper.
- 1892, Mark Twain, Meisterschaft: In Three Acts, act III, scene I, page 199:
- WIRTHIN. Well, I should think so! They just dote on that hussy—can't seem to get enough of her. Gretchen tells me so herself. And the care she takes of them!
- A sexually immoral woman.
- 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
- She called him `pig' in bastard Arabic, and he called her `hussy' in good English, but these amenities were forgotten in the face of the catastrophe that had overwhelmed her at the hands of her Queen.
- A cheeky or disrespectful girl; a woman showing inappropriate or improper behavior.
- Synonym: minx
- 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:
- Molly the dairymaid came a little way from the rickyard, and said she would pluck the pigeon that very night after work. She was always ready to do anything for us boys; and we could never quite make out why they scolded her so for an idle hussy indoors. It seemed so unjust. Looking back, I recollect she had very beautiful brown eyes.
- (obsolete) A case or bag for needles, thread, etc.
- Synonym: housewife
Derived terms
[edit]Related terms
[edit]Translations
[edit](obsolete) a housewife or housekeeper — see housewife
a sexually immoral woman
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a cheeky or disrespectful girl; a woman showing inappropriate or improper behaviour
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Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English doublets
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ʌsi
- Rhymes:English/ʌsi/2 syllables
- Rhymes:English/ʌzi
- Rhymes:English/ʌzi/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English terms with quotations
- en:Sex
- en:Female people