old wifen.
/ˌəʊl(d) ˈwʌɪf/, U.S. /ˈoʊl(d) ˈwaɪf/ 1.
a. An old woman. In later use (also): a person who tells old wives' tales. (Formerly sometimes as one word.) Now usually derogatory.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > old person > old woman > [noun]
old wifeeOE
old womanOE
trota1375
carlinec1375
cronec1386
vecke1390
monea1393
hagc1400
ribibec1405
aunt?a1425
crate14..
witchc1475
mauda1500
mackabroine1546
grandam?1550
grannam1565
old lady1575
beldam1580
lucky1629
granny1634
patriarchess1639
runta1652
harridan1699
grimalkin1798
mama1810
tante1815
wifie1823
maw1826
old dear1836
tante1845
Mother Bunch1847
douairière1869
dowager1870
veteraness1880
old trout1897
tab1909
bag1924
crow1925
ma1932
Skinny Liz1940
old bag1947
old boot1958
tannie1958
LOL1960
eOE Corpus Gloss. (1890) 18/2 Anus, alduuif.
OE Ælfric Old Eng. Hexateuch: Gen. (Claud.) xviii. 13 Sceal ic nu eald wif cennan?
c1225 (?c1200) Hali Meiðhad (Bodl.) (1940) 528 (MED) Hwil þu swenchest..scheome teke þet sar wið þe alde wifes scheome creft, þe cunnen of þet wasið.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 219 A guod ald wyf porchaceþ more of heuene..biddinde, þanne ssolde do a þouzond knyȝtes..be hare armes.
c1395 G. Chaucer Wife of Bath's Tale 1000 A fouler wight ther may no man deuyse; Agayn the knyght this old wyf gan ryse.
c1440 (?a1400) Morte Arthure 986 (MED) Thane answers sir Arthure to þat alde wyf.
?c1475 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 15562) f. 2v An Alde wife, Annus, Anicula, vetula.
1598 R. Bernard tr. Terence Heautontimoroumenos ii. iii, in Terence in Eng. 212 The old wife shee spun the woufe.
1615 Bp. J. Hall No Peace with Rome xx, in Recoll. Treat. 881 Some superstitious olde wife, or some idle and silly cloisterer.
1641 Marianvs xvii. 157 The old Wives say, they that feed with the Divell must have a long spoone.
1737 A. Ramsay Coll. Scots Prov. v. 10 Auld Wives and Bairns make Fools of Physicians.
1756 M. Calderwood Lett. & Jrnls. (1884) xiii. 332 But I find that those I could have wagered upon one as bigotted in every point as any old wife of what religion soever.
a1796 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 99 An auld wife's tongue's a feckless matter.
1814 Ld. Byron Let. 24 Mar. (1975) IV. 85 They [sc. Coleridge, Southey, Wordsworth] know nothing of the world... They are mere old wives.
1834 W. A. Caruthers Kentuckian in N.Y. xvii. 188 What a stump speech he could make, if he would only turn his hand to it, instead of wasting his wind here among the old wives!
1892 R. L. Stevenson & L. Osbourne Wrecker xiii. 213 I don't know whether he's a liar or only an old wife.
1932 ‘L. G. Gibbon’ Sunset Song ii. 120 Damn the fears, that's nothing but an old wife's gabble for fearing the bairns.
1992 M. Clynes White Rose Murder (BNC) 84 The ghosts of the dead came back to their resting place (or so the old wives say).
2000 M. Herman Purely Belter 22 Jesus, I wish we'd had that cup o'tea the old wife back there offered us. I'm gasping.
b. old wives' tale n. (also old wife's tale, old wives' story, old wives' fable) an unlikely story; a widely held or traditional belief now thought to be incorrect or erroneous. Cf. earlier old woman's tale n. at old woman n. 1b.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > fabrication of statement or story > a false or foolish tale > [noun] > as told by old women
old woman's talea1425
old wives' talea1680
1526 Bible (Tyndale) 1 Tim. iv. 7 Cast awaye vngostly and olde wyves fables[a1425 Wycliffite, L.V. elde wymmenus fablis; 1535 Coverdale, olde wyuesh fables].
1572 R. Harrison tr. L. Lavater Of Ghostes Ded. 1 Many..suppose all that is reported..to be mere trifles and old wyves tales.
a1593 C. Marlowe Tragicall Hist. Faustus (1604) sig. C2 Thinkst thou that Faustus is so fond, To imagine, that after this life there is any paine? Tush these are trifles and meere olde wiues tales.
a1637 B. Jonson Tale of Tub Prol. 68 in Wks. (1640) III Antick Proverbs, drawne from Whitson-Lord's, And their Authorities, at Wakes and Ales, With countrey precedents, and old Wives Tales.
a1680 S. Butler Genuine Remains (1759) I. 78 So simple were those Times, when a grave Sage Could with an Old-wive's-Tale instruct the Age.
1708 Ld. Shaftesbury Let. conc. Enthusiasm 9 A solid System of old Wives Storys.
1739 T. C. Pagett Kind of Dial. in Hudibrasticks 10 Right and Wrong are old Wives Tales, And Nothing's bad but that which fails.
1848 J. R. Planché Extravaganzas (1879) III. ii. iv. 221 She makes a jest of old wives' stories.
1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues I. 45 These are the sort of old wives' tales which he sings and recites to us.
1915 Sci. Monthly Oct. 80 We may pass by the objectors of the class who believe that vaccinated persons cough like cows and bellow like bulls; these objections go into the limbo of old wives' fables.
1942 Amer. Hist. Rev 47 554 In handling his subject the author wisely has resisted the temptation to make a rag-bag collection of folklore and old wives' tales.
2000 Guardian 5 Sept. ii. 16/4 The old wives' tale about tequila's mind-altering properties comes from its proximity to mezcal, which in turn has been confused with mescaline.
2. Any of various mostly deep-bodied edible marine fishes, spec. (a) a wrasse; (b) the alewife, Alosa pseudoharengus; (c) the menhaden, Brevoortia tyrannus; (d) the black sea bream, Spondyliosoma cantharus; (e) the queen triggerfish, Balistes vetula; (f) a small brown and white striped fish with pink fins, Enoplosus armatus (family Enoplosidae), of Australasian coasts.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > family Sparidae (sea-breams) > [noun] > member of (sea-bream)
baleenc1185
sea-bream1530
old wife1585
pargo1589
ruffle1601
sargon1601
sargus1605
sea-liver1611
ruffe1647
silver-fish1703
porgy1725
brassem1731
red gilt-head1776
sparoid1842
panga1902
the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > order Tetraodontiformes (puffers) > [noun] > family Balistidae (trigger-fish)
old wife1585
trigger-fish1849
queen triggerfish1906
the world > animals > fish > class Osteichthyes or Teleostomi > subclass Actinopterygii > order Clupeiformes > [noun] > family Clupeidae and herrings > clupea serrata (ale-wife)
old wife1585
alewife1633
river herring1842
kyak1849
Taunton turkey1851
the world > animals > fish > class Osteichthyes or Teleostomi > subclass Actinopterygii > order Clupeiformes > [noun] > family Clupeidae and herrings > brevoortia tyrannus (menhaden)
old wife1585
yellowtaila1622
whiting1735
shadine1782
hardhead1792
menhaden1792
mossbunker1792
bony fish1815
pauhagen1833
pogy1840
green-tailed shad1884
schoolie1891
the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > suborder Labrioidei (wrasse) > [noun] > family Labridae > member of (wrasse)
old wife1585
merle1601
rockfish1605
cook fish1611
wrasse1686
wroth1750
bergle1795
partridge1890
bluehead1919
1585 J. White in Brit. Mus. Dept. of Prints & Drawings 199.a.3 (L.B.3 (125)) Masunnehockeo. The olde wyfe, 2. foote in length.
1588 T. Hariot Briefe Rep. Virginia sig. D iij There are also..Oldwiues; Mullets; Plaice.
1602 R. Carew Surv. Cornwall i. f.32 Of flat [fish there are] Brets, Turbets, Dories,..Oldwife, Hake.
1655 T. Moffett & C. Bennet Healths Improvem. xix. 184 Old wives (because of their mumping and soure countenance) are as dainty and wholesome of substance, as they are large in body.
1736 Philos. Trans. 1735–6 (Royal Soc.) 39 112 Turdus oculo radiato. Guaperva maxima caudata... The Old Wife. This is a Fish of the compressed sharp-back'd kind, and is tolerable good Meat.
1756 P. Browne Civil & Nat. Hist. Jamaica ii. iii. 456 A saying..that an Old Wife is the best of fish, and worst of flesh.
1789 A. Phillip Voy. Botany Bay 281 This fish..was called by the sailors the Old Wife.
1847 W. B. Carpenter Zool.: Systematic Acct. II. 41 Several species [of Labridæ] are found upon our own coasts..known among the fishermen by the name of ‘Old Wives of the Sea’.
1881 Proc. Linn. Soc. New S. Wales 5 309 Enoplasus armatus..‘Old Wife’ of the Sydney Fishermen.
1906 D. G. Stead Fishes Austral. 105 The Old Wife..is purely an Australian fish and is found principally in the waters of New South Wales and Victoria.
1936 J. T. Jenkins Fishes Brit. Isles (ed. 2) 41 Of the British species the Black Sea Bream.., or Old Wife.., is met with frequently in the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic.
1950 Jrnl. Educ. Sociol. 24 224 Near the center of town on St. Thomas, is the old open market place... Here you will see the straps of bright-hued fish with such odd names:..old wife, yellow-tail, blue fish, etc.
1983 B. Hutchins & M. Thompson Marine & Estuarine Fishes S.-W. Austral. 44 Old Wife... Named after its habit of ‘grunting like an old wife’ when caught.
3. North American. The long-tailed duck, Clangula hyemalis. Cf. oldsquaw n. at old adj. Compounds 4. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Anseriformes (geese, etc.) > subfamily Merginae (duck) > [noun] > clangula hyemalis (old squaw)
hound1623
old wife1634
swallow-tailed duck1678
swallow-tailed sheldrake1678
calloo1793
south-southerly1814
oldsquaw1834
long-tail1837
granny1888
sea pheasant1893
1634 W. Wood New Englands Prospect i. viii. 31 The Oldwives, be a foule that never leave tatling day or night, something bigger than a Ducke.
1709 J. Lawson New Voy. Carolina 147 Old Wives are a black and white pied Gull with extraordinary long Wings, and a golden colour'd Bill.
1838 J. J. Audubon Ornithol. Biogr. IV. 105 Although, like all sea-ducks, the ‘Old Wife’ swims deeply, it moves with..grace and celerity.
1894 A. Newton et al. Dict. Birds: Pt. III 654 Old squaw and old wife are two..names of the Long-tailed Duck.
1974 C. S. Houston To Arctic 184 Old-Squaw Duck, Clangula hyemalis. Richardson, following the usage of Pennant, called this the ‘Long-tailed Duck’, while the Hudson's Bay residents called it ‘Old Wife’ or ‘Swallow-tailed Duck’.
4. Scottish. A cap or cowl to prevent a chimney from smoking.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > heating or making hot > that which or one who heats > [noun] > a device for heating or warming > devices for heating buildings, rooms, etc. > chimney > chimney-pot
pig1683
pot1785
can1805
chimney-can1805
old wife1823
old woman1829
chimney-pot1830
chimney cap1847
tallboy1884
1823 Edinb. Mag. & Literary Misc. Mar. 289/2 An ‘old-wife’, which had lately been raised to this elevated station, with the view of causing the smoke to vent more freely.
1832 Chambers' Edinb. Jrnl. 26 May 130/2 Nothing to be seen from the windows but..the chimney-stacks and old wives.
1913 F. Niven Ellen Adair vi. 73 The February wind whirled the chimney tops..the cowled ones, called ‘auld wives’ or ‘auld wives' mutches’, because of their likeness to such old dames.
Derivatives
old-ˈwifely adj. resembling or characteristic of an old wife.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > old person > old woman > [adjective]
old-wivish1535
anilea1624
grannamish1673
old-woman-like1721
tabby1748
old-womanish1764
old-wifelya1799
old-womanly1826
blue rinse1955
a1799 D. Simpson Plea for Relig. (1803) 147 Opposed by a large number of old-wifely Bishops.
1871 Atlantic Monthly May 655/2 A certain old-wifely air in much of the advice detracts little from its authority.
2002 I. Zuber Salt 320 Anna's mother had had little use for Mecie, what with..what Tina called her old-wifely ways.
old-ˈwifery n. the habits or beliefs associated with old wives; an instance of these.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > old person > old woman > [noun] > state of being
anility1623
beldamship1633
anileness1727
tabbyhood1797
old-wifery1827
old womanism1828
old-womanry1828
old-womanliness1877
old-ladyhood1888
old-womanishness1914
1827 T. Carlyle tr. J. P. F. Richter in German Romance III. 177 This notion he named stuff and old-wifery.
1842 T. P. Thompson Exercises III. 55 It is manifestly an old-wifery, a noodleism, and all the world for fifty years has held it so.
1999 L. Watson Jacobson's Organ 101 Getting anything that smacks of folklore and old-wifery accepted as science is not easy.
old-ˈwivish adj. (also old-wifish) associated with or typical of old wives; old-wivish fable = old wives' tale n. at sense 1b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > old person > old woman > [adjective]
old-wivish1535
anilea1624
grannamish1673
old-woman-like1721
tabby1748
old-womanish1764
old-wifelya1799
old-womanly1826
blue rinse1955
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Tim. iv. B As for vngoostly and olde wyuesh fables, cast them awaye.
?1544 E. Allen tr. A. Alesius Auctorite Word of God sig. Fjv Se that thou banisch & contemne all vnholy and old wyuissh fables.
1857 J. W. Donaldson Christian Orthodoxy i. 7 1 Tim. iv. 7:..Deprecate the irreligious and oldwifish mythologies.
2001 Re: RF Grounds for HF Portable & VHF/UHF Stations? in rec.radio.amateur.antenna (Usenet newsgroup) 16 Apr. RF grounding of rigs is sillyness and old wivish as far as I'm concerned.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.eOE