Re: [tied] etymology of 'hussy'

03-09-03 07:23, Ray wrote:

> I recently read a book which says the word 'hussy' came into being
> before the form 'housewife'. However, most dictionaries' etymology
> columns list 'hussy' as a contraction of housewife; this might
> suggest that 'housewife' was created earlier than 'hussy'.
>
> So, which account is correct? 'hussy' was created before 'housewife'
> or 'hussy' happened as a contraction of 'housewife', i.e. it occurred
> after 'housewife'?
>
> I will apprecite your replies.

<housewife> (originally spelt <husewif>) is older. It was already in use
in Early Middle English (13th c.). English /w/ is notoriously unstable
in compounds, so the word was often contracted into <huzzif> or
<hussive> (the vowel was shortened before the Great Vowel Shift), and
then further into <huzzy> or <hussy> (about the 16th c.). The
differentiation of meaning between the full form (with a restored long
vowel) and the colloquial contractions is a still more recent phenomenon.

Piotr