D defs.my
Entry 8 senses · 2 variants Webster, 1913

Husband

/hŭz'-bənd/ · Hus·band · IPA /ˈhʌz.bənd/
01 n. The male head of a household; one who orders the economy of a family.
  1. 1.
    The male head of a household; one who orders the economy of a family.[Obs.]
  2. 2.
    A cultivator; a tiller; a husbandman.[Obs.]
    “The painful husband, plowing up his ground.” — Hakewill.
    “He is the neatest husband for curious ordering his domestic and field accommodations.” Evelyn.
  3. 3.
    One who manages or directs with prudence and economy; a frugal person; an economist.[R.]
    “God knows how little time is left me, and may I be a good husband, to improve the short remnant left me.” Fuller.
  4. 4.
    A married man; a man who has a wife; -- the correlative to wife.
    “The husband and wife are one person in law.” Blackstone.
  5. 5.
    The male of a pair of animals.[R.]
Phrases & compounds
A ship's husband — an agent representing the owners of a ship, who manages its expenses and receipts.
02 v. t. To direct and manage with frugality; to use or employ to good purpose and the best advantage; to spend, apply, or use, with economy.
imp. & p. p. Husbanded; p. pr. & vb. n. Husbanding
  1. 1.
    To direct and manage with frugality; to use or employ to good purpose and the best advantage; to spend, apply, or use, with economy.
    “For my means, I'll husband them so well, They shall go far.” Shak.
  2. 2.
    To cultivate, as land; to till.[R.]
    “Land so trim and rarely husbanded.” Evelyn.
  3. 3.
    To furnish with a husband.[R.]