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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread dictionary error? #71314 05/26/2002 12:53 AM Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 wwh Carpal Tunnel wwh Carpal Tunnel Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 n., pl. 3wives# 73wjvz#; for 2, usually huz4ivz8 5ME houswif, huswif6 1 a woman, esp. a married woman, whose principal occupation is managing a household and taking care of domestic affairs 2 a small sewing kit In the Viking etymology site I found: hussif n. A case for needles and thread etc. Scan. The final /f/ is due to confusion with housewife. Ice húsi (a case). Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: housewife #71315 05/26/2002 1:22 AM Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,542 this too shall pass tsuwm Carpal Tunnel tsuwm Carpal Tunnel Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,542 this too shall pass more likely a usage error, if error at all: housewife 3. Usually ("hVzIf). A pocket-case for needles, pins, thread, scissors, etc. (In this sense still often spelt huswife, hussive.) 1749 P. Skelton Deism Revealed viii. (T.), Women+spending their time in knotting, or making an housewife. 1762 Sterne Tr. Shandy V. xvi, To bring whatever he had to say, into so small a compass, that+it might be rolled up in my mother's housewife. 1768 I Sent. Journ. (1775) I. 112 (Temptation) [She] without saying a word, took out her little hussive, threaded a small needle, and sewed it up. 1851 D. Jerrold St. Giles xv. 158 He placed a little silken huswife in her trembling hand. 1868 Holme Lee B. Godfrey x. 54 She drew a thread of silk from the housewife. 1871 Carlyle in Mrs. C.'s Lett. I. 161 She tried anxiously all her ‘hussives’, boxes, drawers. (OED2) Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Husbands #71316 05/26/2002 1:33 AM Joined: Sep 2001 Posts: 6,296 Piedmont Region of Virginia, U... Wordwind Carpal Tunnel Wordwind Carpal Tunnel Joined: Sep 2001 Posts: 6,296 Piedmont Region of Virginia, U... Bill, your housewife is a new word for me, and I really like tsuwm's citation that shows hussive. That's a terrific old word, isn't it? It seems to contain the business, hustling, and liveliness of the home as a hive--hussive burns with energy. I mentions husbands here only as an aside. When I was in college, there was a big pillow that was shaped like the stuffed upper half of an easy chair (or Lazy-Boy) that I heard girls refer to as their husbands. I have no idea whether this was a term restricted to my campus, or a generic term for such a pillow. I'll look it up later, but thought I'd mention it here in conjunction with your needles 'n' pins housewife. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. (have been... ------  Words from medicine  Beheading words  Meta-words  Words from classical mythology  Animal Safari  Words with unusual etymologies  Eponyms or words derived from p...  Loanwords from German  English as a global language Print Thread Switch to Threaded Mode Show Likes Link Copied to Clipboard View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary

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