hussy

• hussif, hussiv

From earlier hussive, hussif, the regular evolution of Middle English houswyf (“housewife”), equivalent to house +‎ wife. Modern housewife is a restoration of the compound (and thus is a doublet), after its component parts had become unrecognisable through regular phonetic change, as well as gradual negative senses and historical factors.

The traditional pronunciation of the word is /ˈhʌzi/; the pronunciation with /s/ is a spelling pronunciation.

• IPA^(key): /ˈhʌsi/, /ˈhʌzi/

• Audio (US):

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• Audio (Southern England):

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• Rhymes: -ʌsi, Rhymes: -ʌzi

hussy (plural hussies)

1. (obsolete) A housewife or housekeeper.
   • 1892, Mark Twain, Meisterschaft: In Three Acts, act III, scene I, page 199:

     WIRTHIN. Well, I should think so! They just dote on that hussy—can't seem to get enough of her. Gretchen tells me so herself. And the care she takes of them!

2. A sexually immoral woman.
   • 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:

     She called him `pig' in bastard Arabic, and he called her `hussy' in good English, but these amenities were forgotten in the face of the catastrophe that had overwhelmed her at the hands of her Queen.

3. A cheeky or disrespectful girl; a woman showing inappropriate or improper behavior.

   Synonym: minx

   • 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:

     Molly the dairymaid came a little way from the rickyard, and said she would pluck the pigeon that very night after work. She was always ready to do anything for us boys; and we could never quite make out why they scolded her so for an idle hussy indoors. It seemed so unjust. Looking back, I recollect she had very beautiful brown eyes.

4. (obsolete) A case or bag for needles, thread, etc.

   Synonym: housewife

• hussy up

• huswife