wife-carl en · NOUN
Meanings
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(obsolete) A cot-quean.
A niggardly curmudgeon, a wife-carl, counts the cakes as they are baking, keeps the keys of the pantry, eats out of his pocket,
1865 [1863], David Lyndsay, “Ane discriptioun of Peder Coffeis”, in John Small, editor, The Monarche and Other Poems of Sir David Lyndesay, 2nd edition, volume I, London: N. Trübner & Co., page 589:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| wife-carls | Number=Plur | lexicographic |