Wife

A wife is a female lifetime partner in a continuing marital relationship. A wife may also be referred to as a spouse. The term continues to be applied to a woman who has separated from her husband and ceases to be applied to such a woman only when her marriage has come to an end following a legally recognised divorce or the death of her spouse. The rights and obligations of the wife in relation to her husband and others, and her status in the community and in law, varies between cultures and has varied over time. In a heterosexual relationship, a woman's spouse is her husband.

Famous quotes containing the word wife:

“Okay, we’re bad.
Go away, faithful wife.
Your name may be untarnished,
but at least we don’t
lust after the barber
like somebody’s wife we know.”
—Hla Stavhana (c. 50 A.D.)

“What is a life or two, Guy! Some people are better off dead. Like your wife and my father, for instance.”
—Raymond Chandler (1888–1959)

“When my old wife lived, upon
This day she was both pantler, butler, cook,
Both dame and servant, welcomed all, served all,
Would sing her song and dance her turn, now here
At upper end o’the table, now i’the middle,
On his shoulder, and his, her face afire
With labor, and the thing she took to quench it
She would to each one sip.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)