Wifeliness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality of being a devoted, dutiful, or exemplary spouse in a marriage
2. The state or character of conducting oneself as a proper and attentive wife
3. The virtue or admirable conduct befitting a married woman in her domestic role

Etymology: "Wifeliness" is a simple formation: the adjective "wifely," meaning of or befitting a wife, with the suffix "-ness" attached to turn the quality into a noun. "Wifely" itself is built from "wife" plus "-ly," an adjective-forming ending, so the word is a chain of two common English suffixes stacked on an old root. The suffix "-ness" is the older and more productive of the two. It comes from Old English "-nes," used to form abstract nouns of quality from adjectives, so "wifely" becomes the state or quality of being wifely. English speakers have used this pattern for centuries to name nearly any adjective's quality, which is why "wifeliness" can be formed almost on demand.

Synonyms: wifehood, wifeliness