FISHWIFE

Fishwife

A fishwife or fishlass is a woman who sells fish. In this context, the word wife means woman rather than married woman. This usage stems from Old English wif and is similar to the German weib, also meaning "woman". This sense of the word is still used in Modern English in constructions such as midwife and old wives' tale. "Lass" means girl or young woman, particularly one who is unmarried.

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fishwife

Noun

  1. A woman who sells or works with fish. (This is another name for a female fishmonger.)
  2. A vulgar, abusive or nagging woman with a loud, unpleasant voice.
  3. Term of abuse, usually directed at women, implying lack of personal hygiene.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: fishwife
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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