Added 10 October 2026
hussy
/ˈhʌzi/ noun
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about hussy at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- A sexually immoral woman.
- A cheeky or disrespectful girl; a woman showing inappropriate or improper behavior.
- A housewife or housekeeper.
Origin
From earlier hussive, hussif, the regular evolution of Middle English houswyf (“housewife”), equivalent to house + wife. Modern housewife is a restoration of the compound (and thus is a doublet), after its component parts had become unrecognisable through regular phonetic change, as well as gradual negative senses and historical factors. The traditional pronunciation of the word is /ˈhʌzi/; the pronunciation with /s/ is a spelling pronunciation.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)