Now “wife” is a term that does not imply a double interpretation. But this was not always so, we will analyze the meaning of the word, its synonyms, as well as the difference between spouse and wife.
Value
If a person is sufficiently cultured, then three images come to mind when he says the word “wife”:
- Penelope is the wife of Odysseus;
- Xanthippus is the wife of Socrates;
- An old woman from a fairy tale by A. S. Pushkin about a fisherman and a fish.
In principle, the last two types can be combined with the adjective “grumpy”, few people dream of such wives, everyone wants, of course, Penelope, but not every man is an Odysseus, so everything is fair.
Let's look in the dictionary and find out that a wife is not only a married woman. So, the values are as follows:
- A woman in relation to a man with whom she is officially married.
- Same as a woman. This is an outdated and tall option.
By the way, the Slavs called “women” all women in principle, the same is true for men - the husband is a male person, and when he breaks up with his single position, he becomes a spouse. Therefore, whether we want it or not, we need to talk about the meaning of the words “spouse” and “wife”.
Difference between spouse and wife
In addition to the dictionary meanings of words, there are also personal preferences that determine the person’s lexical choice. This is to ensure that someone fundamentally does not like the word "spouse" because of the echo of treasury in it. This point of view has a right to exist. But the meaning of the word “wife” among the Slavs was not suitable for characterizing a married woman, because then other names had not yet appeared in the language. In fact, the word "spouse" is not a big deal, on the contrary, it is positive.
It comes from the old Russian "spouse", that is, "pair of teams; spouse, couple, husband and wife. ” The noun derives its pedigree from the verb “crush” - “tighten, unite, harness”. In other words, spouses are concepts that are similar in meaning to the words “husband” and “wife” in their modern interpretation. And if we turn to ancient times, then the same couple will look like this: husband and wife - man and woman who are not married, and spouses are those who form a family.
White papers and speech etiquette
What we told above is not subtleties yet, but really delights will go further. The feeling of treasury from the definition of “spouse” arises for a reason. After all, it is this noun that is taken for the main in official documents. Further even more interesting. Sometimes you can hear: “My wife was in the store and told me that the chickens were cheaper!” - this is a wrong turn. You can only talk about your beloved “wife”, and when it comes to someone else’s wife, then she is “spouse”. That is, the following sentence would be correct: “My wife was in the store today and told me that the chickens became cheaper. Pass on this extremely interesting information to your spouse. ” Slightly awkward, but what to do. In general, the word "spouse" fell out of favor, so it is relatively rare to hear, although such treatment is much better than animalistic names - such as "cat", "hare", fish. " It seems that when getting married (getting married) or gaining a permanent sexual partner, people lose their identity, forget their names and dissolve in an anonymous sea of common definitions. After all, a person is not given a name at birth so that later on, having changed his marriage status, he will be safely lost. But let’s leave it, the only important thing here is that the “spouse”, even in relation to his wife, is preferable to affectionate, meaningless appeals.
Ideological conclusions from the difference of synonyms for the concept of “beloved woman”
Strong association with the team provides the field for a variety of interpretations. Their scope includes questions about the crisis of marriage as a social institution and the problem of common interests between a wife and a husband. In this context, the spouse is more like a fighting girlfriend, and the wife is like a fellow traveler on the train: she just decided to share some part of the trip with the man, because there was no other ticket or money for a more luxurious coupe. By the way, the last scenario is the key to a huge number of alliances between a man and a woman: people did not find anyone better, but clutched at what was, because time is inexorable.
But even if you think in this way, you still can’t say that such speculation is fair. No matter how noble the origin of the words, people fill them with concrete content. You can call your wife a spouse, while making a certain stylistic mistake, but she will not become any kinder or more merciful. A wife is a state of mind, and it is unlikely that anything will change from the name. Roughly speaking, people can be divided into two categories - egoists and altruists. The former are disgusting husbands and wives, and the latter are excellent. Because some put their well-being above all else and sometimes use people in their interests, the second put the happiness of another above their own and are able to serve a husband or wife. Of course, these are the so-called pure types; in reality, they are usually not observed. What is the conclusion? You should not attach much importance to the word "wife", it is better to observe the actions of women.
Synonyms for “wife”
Since we started talking about synonyms, then let's continue and pick up substitutions for the noun “wife”. Without delaying the matter, we go to the list:
- half (dearest, legal);
- missus;
- mistress;
- my love;
- expensive;
- honey;
- fighting girlfriend;
- girlfriend of life;
- life partner.
In fact, there are even more replacements, because each family gradually develops its own individual vocabulary of nicknames and diminutive definitions for each member of the family, so here is a general list that excludes comparison with animals and other outright bad taste. But if you move from the linguistic plane to the vital plane, you must say: you need to find a wife for yourself so that she does not need replacements.
How not to make a mistake in choosing a fighting girlfriend?
Someone may be indignant and say: “We are not in the market, the wife is not a vegetable!” Calm, that's right. There is love, which is not carrots, but a person always chooses, based on some grounds, criteria. We just want the search to be set correctly, this in no way contradicts "great and pure love." In addition, our algorithm can be rejected by the reader, but let him at least think about it. So, the list of qualities is as follows:
- mind, intellectual development;
- community of interests;
- charm;
- beauty.
Men may think that we are cunning, how can beauty be put in last place? But like this. Life is a marathon, and beauty is a perishable product that costs nothing, while intellectual power, a community of interests and charm do not evaporate anywhere. And yes, one should not interpret the words about beauty vulgarly, because physical attractiveness should still be between people. Here we are only talking about the fact that you should not be charmed by the thoughtless beauty, which does not imply any baggage.
The main thing is love
Of course, any parameters and algorithms make sense only in a favorable space. All claims are baseless and groundless without love, but it is also difficult to live without clear ideas about what is desired in this very love juice. Because, as practice shows, marriages concluded on enthusiasm and love fall apart quickly: such a factor as people's unpreparedness for family life comes into play. The latter can be expressed both in the incompatibility of everyday habits, and in the difference of interests.
Sometimes the mismatch of life patterns is so great that love is not able to smooth out this difference. Jokes about a long-term mortgage as the foundation of a reliable marriage have their own truth. But what kind of life is it when people stay together only for certain material and economic benefits? Good question to think about at your leisure. Moreover, there is no shortage of information, the mere definitions of a “wife” will accumulate a whole placer.