petticoat-governedadj.
/ˈpɛtɪkəʊtˌɡʌvnd/, U.S. /ˈˌpɛdiˌkoʊtˈˌɡəvərnd/, /ˈˌpɛdəˌkoʊtˈˌɡəvərnd/ depreciative.
Ruled by a woman or women; ‘henpecked’.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > married person > married man > [adjective] > relating to a husband > henpecked
wifish1607
woman-tireda1616
henpecked1660
wife-ridden1685
wife-bound1820
petticoat-governed1832
pussy-whipped1953
1832 Niles’ Weekly Reg. 23 June 299/1 They heard the queen and ‘the Fitzclarences’..spoken of in very severe terms, because they were supposed to have influenced the ‘petticoat-governed’ old man who is king.
1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 1st Ser. I. 175 Mr. Calton seized the hand of the petticoat-governed little man.
1903 J. K. Jerome Tea-table Talk v. 96 The petticoat-governed country has always paid dearly for its folly.
1949 K. Anthony Dolly Madison vi. 113 The petticoat-governed Thornton turned for comfort to his masculine friend.
1983 R. Gilmour in A. Trollope Barchester Towers Introd. p. xxviii Mr Slope..is a dangerous figure in petticoat-governed Barchester.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1832