wife-swapn.
/ˈwʌɪfˌswɒp/, U.S. /ˈwaɪfˌswɑp/ Originally U.S.
1. A permanent or long-term exchange of wives between married couples, esp. for the purpose of remarriage. Cf. wife-swapping n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > types of marriage custom or practice > [noun] > wife-swapping
wife-swapping1851
wife-swap1855
1855 Sullivan (Indiana) Democrat 30 June (headline) A wife swop.
1891 Logansport (Indiana) Daily Pharos 19 Feb. 1/6 (heading) The wife-swap consummated.
1934 Beatrice (Nebraska) Daily Sun 20 Sept. 6/6 (headline) Wife swap is called off.
1960 Anderson (Indiana) Herald 7 Dec. 3 Her husband had brooded over his two children who went to live with their mother after the wife swap.
2005 D. Mittelstadt Foundations of Justice ii. 168 Within a short time, McPherson decided he wanted to be with Helen and allegedly proposed a wife-swap.
2. A temporary exchange of wives or sexual partners between couples for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity. Cf. wife-swapping n. 2. Originally and chiefly attributive.
ΚΠ
1956 J. Stearn Sisters of Night ii. 20 A man came up to her, drooling, and said it was too bad she wasn't married; this was wife-swap night, and he wanted to swap for her.
1971 Altoona (Pa.) Mirror 1 June 17/2 Theo, the uninhibited author who proposes the wife swap to his friend and publisher, Julian.
2016 Burton Mail (Nexis) 12 Mar. 6 Now my husband keeps saying how he feels that a wife swap would be really exciting and would perk up our boring sex life.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2016; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
wife-swapv.
/ˈwʌɪfˌswɒp/, U.S. /ˈwaɪfˌswɑp/ Originally U.S.
intransitive. To exchange wives or sexual partners for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity; to engage in wife-swapping (wife-swapping n. 2).
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > types of marriage custom or practice > [verb (intransitive)] > wife-swap
wife-swap1964
1964 Logansport (Indiana) Pharos-Tribune 19 Jan. 4/7 The ‘In’ set are still tch-tchatting about that New Year's Eve party. Some pairs wife-swapped.
1978 F. Weldon Praxis xx. 184 They played strip poker; they wife-swapped.
2007 Evening Standard (Nexis) 7 June 10 [He] and Sadie wifeswapped with Pearl and her husband.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2016; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
<
n.1855v.1964