Re: [tied] etymology of 'hussy'

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Piotr Gasiorowski
<piotr.gasiorowski@...> wrote:

> <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

Thank you, Piotr

I have one question. I read a book by Larry Trask, which says
that 'hussy' was the result of 'huswif' undergoing phonological
reduction. Then 'hussy' underwent analogy, and then the modern
form 'housewife' occurred.

It seems to imply that 'hussy' replaced 'huswif'! That means the 2
words were not coeval???

I will appreciate your reply

Ray