hussy

Etymology

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

noun

  1. (obsolete) A housewife or housekeeper.
    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! 1892, Mark Twain, Meisterschaft: In Three Acts, act III, scene I, page 199
  2. A sexually immoral woman.
  3. A cheeky or disrespectful girl; a woman showing inappropriate or improper behavior.
  4. (obsolete) A case or bag for needles, thread, etc.

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