Feminine
vrouw
Meaning
- (feminine) woman
- (feminine) wife
Concepts
female spouse
Dama
Synonyms
prostituée
publieke vrouw
bluts
zwier
maîtresse
vrouw van lichte zeden
Mw.
Frequency
Pronounced as (IPA)
/vrɑu̯/
Etymology
In summary
From Middle Dutch vrouwe, from Old Dutch frouwa, from Proto-West Germanic *frauwjā, from Proto-Germanic *frawjǭ. Vrouw replaced wijf as a neutral descriptor for a woman in the Early Modern period (see there for more), whereas vrouw mostly referred to well-off or aristocratic women in Middle Dutch. (In this latter sense, vrouw was itself superseded by dame, although the archaic form vrouwe is fossilized with the same aristocratic meaning.)
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Notes