husband

English

Etymology

From Middle English husbonde, housbonde, from Old English hūsbonda, hūsbunda (“male head of a household, householder, master of a house”), from Old Norse húsbóndi (“master of house”), from hús (“house”) + bóndi (“dweller, householder”), equivalent to house +‎ bond (“serf, slave", originally, "dweller”).

Bond in turn represents a formation derived from the present participle of West Scandinavian búa, East Scandinavian bôa = to build, plow; compare German bauen, der Bauende. Cognate with Icelandic húsbóndi (“head of household”), Faroese húsbóndi (“husband”), Norwegian husbond (“head of household, husband”), Swedish husbonde (“master”), Danish husbond (“husband”) (< Old Danish husbonde).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈhʌz.bənd/
Audio (US): (file)
Audio (UK): (file)
Audio: (file)

Noun

husband (plural husbands)

A man in a marriage or marital relationship, especially in relation to his spouse.
Synonym: (endearing) hubby

You should start dating so you can find a suitable husband.
- 1765–1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, (please specify |book=I to IV), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC:
  The husband and wife are one person in law.
- 1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter I, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, →OCLC; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co., […], [1933], →OCLC, page 0016:
  A great bargain also had been […] the arm-chair in which Bunting now sat forward, staring into the dull, small fire. In fact, that arm-chair had been an extravagance of Mrs. Bunting. She had wanted her husband to be comfortable after the day's work was done, and she had paid thirty-seven shillings for the chair.
- 1921, Ben Travers, chapter 6, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:
  But Sophia's mother was not the woman to brook defiance. After a few moments' vain remonstrance her husband complied. His manner and appearance were suggestive of a satiated sea-lion.
(UK) A manager of property; one who has the care of another's belongings, owndom, or interests; a steward; an economist.
(archaic) A prudent or frugal manager.
- 1645, Thomas Fuller, Good Thoughts in Bad Times, Occasional Meditations: V:
  God knows how little time is left me, and may I be a good husband, to improve the short remnant thereof.
- 1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC, pages 273–274:
  [S]o I went and fetch’d a good Dram of Rum, and gave him; for I had been ſo good a Husband of my Rum, that I had a great deal left: When he had drank it, I made him take the two Fowling-Pieces, which we always carry’d, and load them with large Swan-Shot, as big as ſmall Piſtol Bullets; then I took four Muſkets, and loaded them with two Slugs, and five ſmall Bullets each; and my two Piſtols I loaded with a Brace of Bullets each; I hung my great Sword as uſual, naked by my Side, and gave Friday his Hatchet.
(somewhat dated) The master of a house; the head of a family; a householder.
A tiller of the ground; a husbandman.
- 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto III”, in The Faerie Queene. […], part II (books IV–VI), London: […] [Richard Field] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC:
  […] a withered tree, through husbands toyle,
  Is often seene full freshly to have florisht […]
- 1627, G[eorge] H[akewill], An Apologie of the Power and Prouidence of God in the Gouernment of the World. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Iohn Lichfield and William Turner, […], →OCLC:
  The painfull husband plowing up his ground, Shall finde all fret and rust both pikes and shields
- 1681 September 9 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for 30 August 1681]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], 2nd edition, volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […]; and sold by John and Arthur Arch, […], published 1819, →OCLC:
  He is the neatest husband for curious ordering his domestick and field accommodations.
The male of a pair of animals.
- 1697, Virgil, “The Third Book of the Georgics”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
  Husband of the Herd
A large cushion with arms meant to support a person in the sitting position; a husband pillow.
While reading her book, Sally leaned back against her husband, wishing it were the human kind.
(UK dialectal) A polled tree; a pollard.

Synonyms

See also Thesaurus:husband

Hypernyms

wedder
partner (may or may not be married)
spouse (may also apply to wife)

Coordinate terms

wife

Derived terms

Descendants

⇒ Chinese: 黑漆板凳 (hēiqī bǎndèng) (obsolete)
→ Japanese: ハズバンド (hazubando)
- ⇒ English: husbando

Translations

male partner in marriage

Abkhaz: ахаҵа (axacʼa), аԥшәма (apŝʷma)
Afar: baqala
Afrikaans: eggenoot (af)
Aghwan: 𐕒𐕡𐕚𐔱𐕒 (usbo)
Akkadian: 𒁮 (mutu)
Alabama: innaani
Albanian: burrë (sq)
Alutor: ӄылавул (qəlavul)
Ambonese Malay: paitua
Amharic: ባል (am) (bal)
Arabic: زَوْج m (zawj), بَعْل (ar) m (baʕl)
Egyptian Arabic: جوز m (gōz), زوج m (zōg) (rare)

Gulf Arabic: ريل m (rayil), زوج m (zōj)

Hijazi Arabic: زوج m (zōj), جوز m (jōz) (rare)
Armenian: ամուսին (hy) (amusin), մարդ (hy) (mard)
Aromanian: bãrbat (roa-rup)
Assamese: গিৰি (giri), পৈ (poi), স্বামী (sami)
Asturian: esposu (ast) m, home (ast) m
Azerbaijani: ər (az), zövc
Bakhtiari: شی (ši), میره (mēre)
Bashkir: ир (ir)
Basque: senar (eu), gizon (eu)
Belarusian: муж m (muž), сужэ́нец m (sužénjec)
Bengali: স্বামী (bn) (śami), শওহর (bn) (śoōhor), জওজ (bn) (joōj), পতি (bn) (poti)
Bhojpuri: भतार (bhatār)
Borôro: oredu
Breton: gwaz (br) m
Bulgarian: мъж (bg) m (mǎž), съпру́г (bg) m (sǎprúg)
Burmese: လင် (my) (lang), (formal) ခင်ပွန်း (my) (hkangpwan:)
Carpathian Rusyn: хлоп m (xlop), муж m (muž), ма́нжел m (mánžel)
Catalan: marit (ca) m
Cebuano: bana
Chechen: мар (mar)
Chickasaw: i̠hattak
Chinese:
Cantonese: 丈夫 (zoeng⁶ fu¹), 老公 (lou⁵ gung¹), 先生 (sin¹ saang¹)

Dungan: нанжын (nanřɨn), җонфу (žonfu), лохан (lohan)

Eastern Min: 老公 (lâu-gŭng)

Gan: 老公 (lau³ gung)

Hakka: 丈夫 (chhong-fû), 先生 (sîn-sâng)

Hokkien: 翁 (zh-min-nan) (ang), 翁婿 (ang-sài), (informal) 查埔人 (zh-min-nan) (tsa-poo-lâng), 丈夫 (tiōng-hu), 先生 (zh-min-nan) (sian-seⁿ/sian-siⁿ)

Jin: 老漢兒／老汉儿 (lau² hanr³)

Mandarin: 丈夫 (zh) (zhàngfu), 老公 (zh), 先生 (zh) (xiānsheng) (polite), 愛人／爱人 (zh) (àirén) (PRC), 相公 (zh) (xiànggōng) (literary)

Northern Min: 老公 (sē-é̤ng)

Teochew: 翁 (ang¹), ^{(please verify)} [script needed] (dai⁶ lou⁶)

Wu: 丈夫 (⁶zan-fu), 愛人／爱人 (⁵e-gnin), 先生 (¹shi-san₁), 男人
Choctaw: hatak
Chukchi: ыʼвэӄуч (yʼvėquč)
Coptic:
Bohairic: ϩⲁⲓ m (hai)

Fayyumic: ϩⲉⲓ m (hei)

Sahidic: ϩⲁⲓ m (hai)
Cornish: gour m
Crimean Tatar: aqay, qoca, refiq
Czech: manžel (cs) m, muž (cs) m, choť (cs) m
Dalmatian: marait m
Danish: mand (da) c, ægtemand (da) c, husbond c (antiquated, formal)
Darkinjung: mullamang
Dutch: man (nl) m, echtgenoot (nl) m
Eastern Cham: ꨤꨆꨬ (lakei), ꨚꨔꩃ (pathang)
Egyptian:

(hj)
Erzya: мирде (miŕďe), пола (pola)
Esperanto: edzo (eo)
Estonian: mees (et), abikaasa (et)
Ewe: atsu, srɔ̃ŋutsu
Faroese: maður (fo) m, ektamaður m, maki m
Finnish: mies (fi), aviomies (fi)
French: mari (fr) m, époux (fr) m
Friulian: omp m, om m, marît m, cristian m
Galician: marido (gl) m, esposo (gl) m, home (gl) m
Ge'ez: በዓል (bäʿal)
Georgian: ქმარი (kmari)
German: Ehemann (de) m, Mann (de) m, Gemahl (de) m, Gatte (de) m, Ehegatte (de) m
Gothic: 𐌰𐌱𐌰 m (aba)
Greek: σύζυγος (el) m (sýzygos), άνδρας (el) m (ándras)
Ancient: γαμέτης m (gamétēs)
Greenlandic: ui
Guaraní: me, ména (gn)
Gujarati: પતિ m (pati), નાવ m (nāv)
Haitian Creole: mari
Hausa: mijī̀
Hawaiian: kāne
Hebrew: בַּעַל (he) m (baʿal), אִישׁ (he) m (ʾish)
Higaonon: asawa
Hiligaynon: bana
Hindi: पति (hi) m (pati), शौहर (hi) m (śauhar), ख़ावंद m (xāvand), मर्द (hi) m (mard), खाविंद (hi) (khāvind), खामिंद (hi) m (khāmind), स्वामि (hi) m (svāmi), स्वामी (hi) m (svāmī), धनी (hi) m (dhanī), पती (hi) m (patī), ज़ौज m (zauj), भतार (hi) (bhatār)
Hittite: 𒇽𒀸 (LÚ-as)
Hungarian: férj (hu)
Icelandic: eiginmaður (is), maður (is) m, bóndi (is) m (archaic)
Ido: spozulo (io)
Igala: ọ́kọ
Igbo: di (ig)
Indonesian: suami (id)
Ingush: мар (mar), цӏен-да (cʼen-da)
Interlingua: marito, sposo, sponso
Irish: fear (ga) m, fear céile m
Istriot: mareî m
Italian: marito (it) m
Izon: yeí
Japanese: 夫 (ja) (おっと, otto), 旦那 (ja) (だんな, danna), 亭主 (ja) (ていしゅ, teishu), 主人 (ja) (しゅじん, shujin) (humble), ハズバンド (ja) (hazubando), ハズ (ja) (hazu), ご主人 (ja) (ごしゅじん, go-shujin) (honorific)
Javanese: laki, bojo lanang, garwa kakung
Jeju: 남펜 (nampen), 서방 (seobang)
Kamba: mundu ume
Kannada: ಪತಿ (kn) (pati)
Kashmiri: خانہٕ دار (ks) (khānhụ dār), خاوَنٛد (ks) (khāvand), بَرتھا (ks) (barthā), روٗن (ks) (rūn), اوش (ks) (ōś), گَروول (ks) (garvōl)
Kazakh: ер (kk) (er), күйеу (küieu), жұбай (jūbai)
Khmer: ប្ដី (km) (pdəy)
Kikuyu: morume
Kis: msacha
Komi-Permyak: айка (ajka)
Korean: 남편(男便) (ko) (nampyeon), 양반(兩班) (ko) (yangban), 량반(兩班) (ko) (ryangban) (North Korea)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: مێرد (ckb) (mêrd), شوو (ckb) (şû)

Laki: مێردە (ku) (mêrde), شۊ (şü)

Northern Kurdish: mêr (ku) m

Southern Kurdish: شۊ (şü)
Kyrgyz: эр (ky) (er), күйөө (ky) (küyöö)
Laboya: lai
Lao: ຜົວ (phūa), ສາມີ (sā mī), ສະຫວາມິ (sa wā mi), ພັດສະດາ (phat sa dā), ປະຕິ (pa ti)
Latin: marītus (la) m, coniunx (la) m, vir (la) m
Latvian: vīrs (lv) m, dzīvesbiedrs m
Laz: ქომოჯი (komoci)
Lezgi: гъуьл (ġül)
Lithuanian: vyras (lt) m, sutuoktinis (lt) m, pats (lt) m (obsolete)
Lolopo: capor
Louisiana Creole French: mari
Low German:
German Low German: Ehmann m, Mann (nds) m
Lü: ᦕᦷ (ṗho)
Luhya: omsecha
Luo: chuora, jaod
Luxembourgish: Mann (lb) m
Macedonian: маж (mk) m (maž), со́пруг m (sóprug)
Maguindanao: kaluma
Malagasy: ibaban-tsaiky, lahy (mg)
Malay: suami (ms), laki (ms)
Malayalam: ഭർത്താവ് (bhaṟttāvŭ)
Maltese: raġel (mt) m
Manchu: ᡝᡳᡤᡝᠨ (eigen)
Mansaka: bana
Maore Comorian: mume class 1/2, mme class 1/2
Maori: hoa tāne, tāne (mi), hoa rangatira
Maranao: kawing
Marathi: नवरा m (navrā), पती m (patī)
Meru: murume
Middle English: husbonde
Mingrelian: ქომოჯი (komoǯi)
Mongolian:
Cyrillic: нөхөр (mn) (nöxör)

Mongolian: ᠨᠥᠬᠦᠷ (nökür)
Mwani: nlume
Navajo: hahastiin
Neapolitan: marito m
Nepali: पति m (pati), श्रीमान (śrīmān)
Ngazidja Comorian: mndru-mme class 1/2
Norman: bouonhoumme m
Northern Sami: boadnji
Norwegian:
Bokmål: ektemann (no) m, mann (no) m, husbond m

Nynorsk: ektemann m, mann (nn) m, husbond m
Nuosu: ꃥꌋ (vip si)
Occitan: marit (oc) m
Odia: ସ୍ୱାମୀ (swāmi)
Ojibwe: niwiidigemaagan
Old Church Slavonic:
Cyrillic: мѫжь m (mǫžĭ)

Glagolitic: ⰿⱘⰶⱐ m (mǫžĭ)
Old East Slavic: мужь m (mužĭ)
Old English: wer (ang) m
Old French: mari m
Ossetian: лӕг (læg), мой (moj) (Iron), мойнӕ (mojnæ) (Digor)
Ottoman Turkish: قوجه (koca)
Pa'o Karen: ဝါ
Paicî: éa
Pali: bhattu m
Pannonian Rusyn: муж m (muž), хлоп m (xlop), супруг m (supruh), товариш m (tovariš)
Pashto: خاوند (ps) m (xāwand), مړو m (mṛo), مېړه m (meṛᶕ), سړی (ps) m (saṛay)
Persian:
Dari: شَوْهَر (fa) (šawhar), زَوْج (fa) (zawj)

Iranian Persian: شُوْهَر (fa) (šowhar), شو (fa) (šu) (dialectal or archaic), شی (fa) (ši) (dialectal), شوی (fa) (šuy) (archaic), زُوْج (fa) (zowj)
Plautdietsch: Maun m
Polish: mąż (pl) m pers, małżonek (pl) m pers
Portuguese: marido (pt) m, esposo (pt) m
Punjabi: ਪਤੀ m (patī)
Quechua: qusa (qu)
Romani: rrom m
Romanian: soț (ro) m
Romansch: um m, cunsort m (Sutsilvan)
Russian: муж (ru) m (muž), супру́г (ru) m (suprúg)
S'gaw Karen: ဝၤ (wā)
Saho: bacla
Sanskrit: पति (sa) m (pati), स्वामिन् (sa) m (svāmin), नाथ (sa) m (nātha)
Sardinian: madiru m
Scots: guidman
Scottish Gaelic: fear-cèile m, fear-pòsda f
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: му̑ж m, су̏пруг m

Roman: mȗž (sh) m, sȕprug (sh) m
Shan: ၽူဝ် (shn) (phǒ)
Shor: эр (er)
Sicilian: maritu (scn) m
Sinhalese: සැමියා (sæmiyā), ස්වාමිපුරුෂයා (swāmipuruṣayā), පුරුෂයා (si) (puruṣayā)
Slovak: manžel (sk) m, muž (sk) m
Slovene: mọ̑ž (sl) m, soprọ̑g (sl) m
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: cłowjek m, muž m

Upper Sorbian: muž (hsb) m
Southern Altai: ӧбӧгӧн (öbögön), эр (er)
Spanish: marido (es) m, esposo (es) m
Sumerian: 𒁮 (DAM)
Sundanese: carogé, salaki (su)
Svan: ჭაშ (č̣aš)
Swahili: mume (sw)
Swedish: make (sv) c, man (sv) c
Tagalog: asawa (tl), bana (tl), lalaking asawa, esposo
Tajik: шавҳар (tg) (šavhar), завҷ (zavj)
Tamil: அம்படையன் (ampaṭaiyaṉ), கணவன் (ta) (kaṇavaṉ)
Taos: sə́onena
Tarantino: marite m
Tatar: ир (tt) (ir)
Telugu: మొగుడు (te) (moguḍu), భర్త (te) (bharta), పెనిమిటి (te) (penimiṭi)
Ternate: raka
Tetum: la'en
Thai: สามี (th) (sǎa-mii), ผัว (th) (pǔua)
Tibetan: ཁྱོ་ག (khyo ga)
Tigrinya: በዓል ቤት m (bäʿal bet)
Tlingit: x̱úx̱
Tocharian B: pets
Tupinambá: mena
Turkish: koca (tr), eş (tr)
Turkmen: är
Tuvan: ашак (aşak)
Udi: ишкъар (išq̇ar), ишу (išu)
Ugaritic: 𐎎𐎚 (mt)
Ukrainian: чолові́к (uk) m (čolovík), муж m (muž)
Urdu: شَوہَر m (śauhar), پَتی m (patī), خاوَنْد m (xāvand), خاوِنْد m (xāvind), مِیاں m (miyā̃), سَرْتاج m (sartāj), خَصَم m (xasam), زَوج m (zauj), مَرْد m (mard)
Uyghur: ئەر (ug) (er)
Uzbek: er (uz)
Venetan: marìo (vec) m
Vietnamese: chồng (vi)
Volapük: (male or female) matan (vo), (male) himatan (vo)
Walloon: ome (wa) m
Welsh: gŵr (cy) m
Western Cham: ڤسآڠ
White Hmong: txiv
Yagnobi: вир (vir)
Yakut: эр (er)
Yámana: tuku
Yiddish: מאַן m (man)
Yoruba: ọkọ
Yucatec Maya: íicham
Zazaki: mêrde (diq)
Zealandic: man m, vent m
Zhuang: boh
Zulu: umyeni class 1/2, indoda (zu) class 9/10, umkhwenyana class 1/2
ǃXóõ: tâa a̰a

cushion

Lithuanian: pagalvėlė f

Verb

husband (third-person singular simple present husbands, present participle husbanding, simple past and past participle husbanded)

(transitive) To manage or administer carefully and frugally; use to the best advantage; economise.
- c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iv]:
  And for my meanes, I'll husband them so well,
  They shall go farre with little.
(transitive) To conserve.
- 1719, Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe
  ...I found pens, ink, and paper, and I husbanded them to the utmost; and I shall show that while my ink lasted, I kept things very exact, but after that was gone I could not, for I could not make any ink by any means that I could devise.
(transitive, obsolete) To till; cultivate; farm; nurture.
- 1672 May 29 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for 19 May 1672]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], 2nd edition, volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […]; and sold by John and Arthur Arch, […], published 1819, →OCLC:
  Land so trim and rarely husbanded.
(transitive, archaic) To provide with a husband.
- 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], page 116, column 2:
  Thinke you, I am no ſtronger then my Sex
  Being ſo Father'd, and ſo Husbanded?
(transitive) To engage or act as a husband to; assume the care of or responsibility for; accept as one's own.

Derived terms

Translations

to economise

Czech: dobře hospodařit impf
Danish: spare på
Finnish: hoitaa säästäväisesti, säästää (fi)
Galician: gobernar (gl)
Swedish: hushålla med

to conserve

Arabic: زَوْج m (zawj)
Dutch: ^{(please verify)} zuinig beheren
French: ménager (fr)
Greek: διαχειρίζομαι (el) (diacheirízomai)
Ido: sparar (io)
Italian: dosare (it)
Maori: whakamoamoa
Norwegian: bevare (no)
Persian: شوهر (fa) (šuhar)
Portuguese: economizar (pt), poupar (pt), conservar (pt)
Romanian: păstra (ro), conserva (ro)
Spanish: ahorrar (es), manejar con economía
Telugu: పోషణ (te) (pōṣaṇa)
Turkish: korumak (tr), özenle kullanmak

Middle English

Noun

husband (plural husbands)

Alternative form of husbonde

Swedish

Etymology

hus (“house”) +‎ band (“band”)

Noun

husband n

a group of musicians who regularly play live in a TV show

Declension

Declension of husband

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	husband	husbands
singular	definite	husbandet	husbandets
plural	indefinite	husband	husbands
plural	definite	husbanden	husbandens