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What's the male equivalent? is this a YART?
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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B&M OED gives maritorious, but calls it a nonce-word and only lists one citation, which, I suppose, makes it a hapax legomenon as well.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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the new edition adds a bit:
nonce-wd. (Revived only from dict. record.) [Humorously < classical Latin maritus husband (see MARRY v.) + -ORIOUS (in UXORIOUS a.: cf. -ORIOUS), punningly on MERITORIOUS a.]
Greatly or excessively fond of one's husband. 1607 G. CHAPMAN Bussy d'Ambois II. 22 Dames maritorious, ne're were meritorious.
1978 P. HOWARD Weasel Words xliv. 166 ‘My husband and I’, is felt to be..charmingly whatever adjective is the wifely feminine of uxorious. The adjective you are looking for is the extremely rare word ‘maritorious’.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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From India word site: "What is the word for a wife who is excessively fond of her husband? (Kriti Nath Jha, Delhi) Some time ago I had written in this column that the English language has a word for a man who is excessively fond of his wife -"uxorious"- but that it doesn't have a word for a woman who is excessively fond of her husband. I am happy to report that such a word does exist. The word is "maritorious". It is derived from the Latin "maritus" meaning "husband". But unlike the word "uxorious", "maritorious" is a word that is seldom heard or used. One does not find it listed in most dictionaries. Wonder why! " http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2001/09/04/stories/13040376.htmScroll down about two thirds
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I love this site, thanks for that everyone. I wonder if there's any possible tie up-or corruption between maritorious and meritorious?
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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The ladies would perhaps regard the uxorious male as so uncommon as to be noteworthy, while maritorious wives are the norm and so not noteworthy.
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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Dr Bill - I suspect you of currying favour with the ladies!
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Carpal Tunnel
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any possible tie up-or corruption between maritorious and meritorious?
I would suspect that the coiner of maritorious had meritorious in mind when he coined it. Uxorious gets its r legitimately from the Latin root. The root for maritorious is marit-; the second r has no business being in there. How much of its presence is due to the r in uxorious and how much to meritorious is up to debate.
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