ghwībh-

ghwībh-
Shame, also pudenda. Expressive root, found only in Tocharian (in the literal meaning) and Germanic.
1. wife; hussy, from Old English wīf, woman, from Germanic *wībam, woman (with semantic weakening from the original meaning; for the semantics, compare the histories of pudendum and cunt).
2. woman, from Old English compound wīf-man(n), “woman-person, wife person,” female (as opposed to wæpen-man(n), “weapon-person,” male, with clear sexual overtones).
 
[Not in Pokorny; compare Tocharian B kwīpe and Tocharian A kip, female pudenda.]

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Wife — For other uses, see Wife (disambiguation). The Merchant s Wife (1918) by Boris Kustodiev …   Wikipedia

  • wife — (n.) O.E. wif woman, from P.Gmc. *wiban (Cf. O.S., O.Fris. wif, O.N. vif, Dan., Swed. viv, M.Du., Du. wijf, O.H.G. wib, Ger. Weib), of uncertain origin. Du. wijf now means, in slang, girl, babe, having softened somewhat from earlier sense of… …   Etymology dictionary

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