Devoted to technical writing and technical writers

Writing about Idioms, Expressions, Cliches, and Word Meanings is a lot of fun. First, in the process of researching the use or origins of these writing forms, I get to learn too. Second, the reader gets to appreciate the “how”, “where from” and “why” of each of these. This beats just having plain English writing lessons.

The word HUSBAND is one we use so often and take for granted. Just ask any poor hen-pecked husband (Joking!). But how many of us know that the word has its origins in the privilege of a man owning his own house and land?

Again, we go back to medieval times when most houses – and even entire villages – were owned by feudal landlords. The people who lived and worked the land were referred to as serfs. Said serfs lived in houses usually owned by the masters of the land. A few men of those days belonged, fortunately, to the freeholder class. Many of these men distinguished themselves in service to the crown, in war, or some other adventure. These men had the privilege of owning a house and a few acres of land. They came to be called HUSBANDS, taken from the words hus (house) bunda (owner) from the German or the Anglo-Saxon equivalent.

These husbands, naturally, attracted women or their parents who sought to have their daughters married to one whose station in life was above that of a serf and who had some worldly possessions of his own. By the 13th century, however, the word husband would be used in reference to any man joined to a woman in marriage, whether he owned a house or not.

sourced by JMJF