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Origin and history of husband

husband(n.)

Middle Englishhousbond,hosebonde,husbond,husbund, from Old Englishhusbonda "male head of a household, master of a house, householder," which is probably from Old Norsehusbondi "master of the house," literally "house-dweller," fromhus "house" (seehouse (n.)) +bondi "householder, dweller, freeholder, peasant," frombuandi, present participle ofbua "to dwell" (from PIE root*bheue- "to be, exist, grow," and comparebond (adj.)).

From late 13c. it replaced Old Englishwer as "married man (in relation to his wife)" and became the companion word ofwife, a sad loss for English poetry. Old Englishwer, in the broadest sense "man, male person" (from PIE root*wi-ro- "man"), is preserved inwerewolf.

The slang shorteninghubby is attested by 1680s.

husband(v.)

"manage thriftily," early 15c., fromhusband (n.) in an obsolete sense of "steward" (mid-15c.). Related:Husbanded;husbanding.

also from early 15c.

Entries linking to husband

bond(adj.)

c. 1300, "in a state of a serf, unfree," frombond (n.) "tenant, farmer holding land under a lord in return for customary service; a married bond as head of a household" (mid-13c.). The Old English form wasbonda,bunda "husbandman, householder," but the Middle English word probably is from Old Norse*bonda, a contraction ofboande,buande "occupier and tiller of soil, peasant, husbandman," a noun from the past participle ofbua,boa "to dwell" (from PIE root*bheue- "to be, exist, grow").

"In the more despotic Norway and Denmark, bo'ndi became a word of contempt, denoting the common low people. ... In the Icelandic Commonwealth the word has a good sense, and is often used of the foremost men ...." [OED]. The sense of the noun deteriorated in English after the Conquest and the rise of the feudal system, from "free farmer" to "serf, slave" (c. 1300) and the word became associated with unrelatedbond (n.) andbound (adj.1).

house(n.)

Old Englishhus "dwelling, shelter, building designed to be used as a residence," from Proto-Germanic*hūsan (source also of Old Norse, Old Frisianhus, Dutchhuis, GermanHaus), of unknown origin, perhaps connected to the root ofhide (v.) [OED]. In Gothic only ingudhus "temple," literally "god-house;" the usual word for "house" in Gothic being according to OEDrazn.

Meaning "family, including ancestors and descendants, especially if noble" is from c. 1000. Zodiac sense is first attested late 14c. The legislative sense (1540s) is transferred from the building in which the body meets. Meaning "audience in a theater" is from 1660s (transferred from the theater itself,playhouse). Meaning "place of business" is 1580s. The specialized college and university sense (1530s) also applies to both buildings and students collectively, a double sense found earlier in reference to religious orders (late 14c.). As a dance club DJ music style, probably from theWarehouse, a Chicago nightclub where the style is said to have originated.

Toplay house is from 1871; as suggestive of "have sex, shack up," 1968.House arrest is attested by 1794.House-painter is from 1680s.House-raising (n.) is from 1704.On the house "free" is from 1889.House and home have been alliteratively paired since c. 1200.

And the Prophet Isaiah the sonne of Amos came to him, and saide vnto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not liue. [II Kings xx.1, version of 1611]