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MODERN ENTRY POINTS
WORD DOSSIERS
022
ATTESTED / RECONSTRUCTED / BOUNDARY
HISTORICAL FORMS
033
WHERE INTERPRETATION IS TESTED
CLAIMS & DISPUTES
SCHOLARLY DISPUTES / 2
resolvedestablishedexact word
Is husband a native English kinship term built from house plus band?
No. English borrowed a Norse householder compound: hūs plus bōndi or būandi. Band is not a component.
resolvedestablishedexact word
Did husband originally mean only a married man?
No. The earlier center was householder or master of a house; household and spouse senses overlapped before the modern specialization.
CONTRARIAN TRUTHS / 1
RANK 120GRADE Aexact ranked word
A husband was a householder before he was a spouse.
English borrowed Old Norse hūsbōndi, house plus householder; spouse meaning grew from household status.
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BOOKS / DICTIONARIES / ARTICLES / DATABASES
SOURCES
historical dictionary13 CLAIM LINKS
Husband — Definition, Word History, and First Known Use
Merriam-Webster Editors / 2026
title prefixAUDIT EVERY USE ↗historical dictionary8 CLAIM LINKS
Husband — American Heritage Dictionary and Word History
American Heritage Dictionary Editors / 2022
title prefixAUDIT EVERY USE ↗051
FIRST USES & HISTORICAL OBJECTS
ATTESTATION WITNESSES
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