housewife

Etymology

From Middle English houswyf, housewif, huswijf, equivalent to house + wife; a doublet. Cognate literally with rare German Hausweib.

noun

1. (plural "housewives") A woman whose main employment is homemaking, maintaining the upkeep of her home and tending to household affairs; often, such a woman whose sole [unpaid] employment is homemaking.
   Coordinate term: househusband
   2000, Uli Kusch, "Mr. Torture", Helloween, The Dark Ride Mr Torture sells pain / To the housewives in Spain / He knows just what they crave / Mr Torture
2. (plural "housewives") The wife of a householder; the mistress of a family; the female head of a household.
3. (plural "housewifes") A little case or bag for materials used in sewing, and for other articles of female work.
   It was a housewife, containing needles, a bodkin, and thread; ‘and, do you know,’ added he, ‘it was the most useful thing she could have given me, for it lasted all the time I was at Rome to mend my clothes with […].’ 1828, JT Smith, Nollekens and His Times, Century Hutchinson, published 1986, page 246
   Woffington's housewife, made by herself, homely to the eye, but holds everything in the world 1852, Tom Taylor, Charles Reade, Masks and Faces, act II
   The "soldier's housewife" was a small sewing kit that was carried to make timely repairs to clothing and equipment. 1997, David L. Phillips, A Soldier's Story, MetroBooks, page 61
4. (plural "housewives", obsolete) A worthless woman; a hussy.

verb

1. Alternative form of housewive