A wife is the female participant in a marriage. Origin and etymology The term originated from the Middle English wif, from Old English w?f, woman, wife, from Germanic * w?bam, woman, related to Modern German Weib (woman, wife),[LINK: http://gaer27.uni-trier.de/CLL/Frouwe/weib.html] Etymology of "Weib" from the Indo-European root ghw?bh-; w?b, meaning veiled or clothed, referred to the wedding veils.[LINK: http://www.bartleby.com/61/14/W0151400.html] American Heritage Dictionary on "wife". The original meaning of "wife" as simply "woman", unconnected with marriage, is preserved in words like "midwife" and "fishwife". Related terminology Although "wife" seems to be a close term to bride, the latter is the female participant in the wedding ceremony (to her groom), while a wife is the status of a married woman after the wedding,