The word husband has been in English since, well, the days of Old English. That’s not exactly surprising. But even in words this old and common, there’s still something to be learned when we look at the roots!
Our modern English word comes from the Old English husbonda, and it meant “male head of a household.” Okay, no surprises there. The Old English is taken from Old Norse husbondi, which was literally “house-dweller.” When we break the word down, we see that hus and house are rather similar–from the same word, as a matter of fact.
So what about that -bund part? That’s from bondi, which has come to mean “dweller” from the verb bua, which is “to dwell”…but that word in turn comes from the ancient bheue…which means “to exist; to grow.” So in a way, husband actually means “house grower” or, as some have put it “house farmer.” Which is amusing enough that I wanted to share. 😉
The shortening to hubby might sound modern, but in fact it dates to the 1680s!
Now, another fun fact. Before husband gained in popularity in Old English, there was another word used for it: wer. This word, rather than having to do with being head of a household (which could apply even to an unmarried man), had evolved from being a general word for “a male person” to specifically mean “a married man.” Poets especially loved being able to pair wer and wife. But alas, wer has mostly vanished from the language…with a few rare exceptions, like werewolf (man-wolf).
Next week, we’ll take a look at wife!
Word Nerds Unite!
Read More Word of the Week Posts
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary. 
I really love the “house grower” description. It makes me think of Ephesians 5, where Paul compares husbands to Christ who gave himself up for the church “that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her…that she might be holy without blemish” (a responsibility to cultivate the wife’s spiritual growth) and says husbands should love, nourish, and cherish their wives as they do their own bodies and as Christ does the church. This morning I also read Psalm 128, which I think bears a connection to the “house grower” concept as well: “Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD” (Psalm 128:3-4). I, of course, don’t know that this is what people were thinking – but I love thinking of husbands as designated growers/cultivators of their house, for the nourishment and flourishing of their family, through their faithfulness to the Lord and the Lord’s blessing upon them.