housewife - housewoman - houseman

Question

I have just recently learned that we could say a housewoman. But is it exactly the same as a housewife (a married women who is not employed)? Or could it mean that a housewoman could be used for a widow whereas a housewife couldn't? Howabout if we extend it to a "houseman"? Is there such a word in English as a "houseman" (a/an un/married man who is not employed outside the home but works at home preparing lunch and dinner for the family while the wife is outside working)?

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Nona the brit · Accepted Answer

I've never heard of 'housewoman'. Who taught you that one?

I'd say that housewife has a wider meaning than the one you mention as well. You don't necessarily have to be married to be a housewife. It is any woman who stays at home looking after the house (and usually children), so it can apply to unmarried mums, widows, etc. House-husband gets used for men who do this.

Marius Hancu · Answer

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houseman

Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural housemen

1 : one hired to perform general work or the heavy duties about a house, hotel, or similar establishment -- called also houseboy

2 : an attendant in a gambling http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/unabridged?book=Third&va=house who sells and cashes in chips, collects fees from players, explains rules, or plays games for the

3 a : HOUSE DETECTIVE b : BOUNCER 3

4 chiefly Britain : ⁴INTERN 1b

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housemother

Function: noun

: a mother of a family : a woman living at the head of a http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/unabridged?book=Third&va=household or small community; specifically : a woman acting as hostess, chaperon, and often as http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/unabridged?book=Third&va=housekeeper in a dormitory, hall, or hostel where young people or children reside

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Magic79 · Answer

I learned "housewoman" from the internet. I check words sometimes not through the dictionary but through search engine results! And one of the results on WWW.MSN.COM was a definition of "housewoman" saying it was a synonym of "housewife."

By the way, what is the best dictionary? My friend says it's Webster's Dictionary. I have longman dictionary and American Heritage Dictionary. In longman, "houseman" was defined as an medical intern training to be a doctor whereas in American Heritage Dictionary they did not mention "intern" but mentioned another meaning which is a hired person to do the house jobs.

Thanks for your comments on the words. You have actually brought together all those disperse meanings that I could not find by myself.

It is interesting how a "houseWIFE" is used for unmarried woman, widows, and divorced!!! I love English, but sometimes language is crazy lol.

Thankssss Neno and Marius!

Nona the brit · Answer

houseman/housewoman I've heard of before, of course, as a job title. The sort of people who work in boarding schools for example, as well as the medical houseman.

That is not relevant to 'housewife' or 'househusband' meaning someone who takes care of their own home/children. Housewoman sounds like PC gone mad here....

BarbaraPA · Answer

I thought the PC version was "domestic engineer." <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/2.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/2.gif' alt='Emotion: big smile'/>

Erin Zale · Answer

"Housewife" is a common term. "Housewoman" and "Houseman", on the other  hand, aren't. Not in American English, anyway. We use the term  "Homemaker", and when there are children involved, "Stay-at-home mom"  and "Stay-at-home dad."

housewife - housewoman - houseman

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