Monday, February 07, 2005
Marraige is a Partnership
This was taken from the feedback to the "A Word A Day" mailing list.
From: Dave Zobel (zobeldaveATaol.com)
Subject: feme covert a la Russe
Refer: http://wordsmith.org/words/feme_covert.html**
In Russian, the predicate adjective "married", when applied to a gentleman, is /zhenat/ (literally, "wifed"). His lady, on the other hand, is /zamuzhem/ (literally, "behind [her] husband"). This asymmetry carries over from the two distinct verbs meaning "to marry" -- one for each gender.
My Russian wife assures me that the wife is behind the husband in the same way that the driver is behind the mule.
**feme covert (fem KOV-uhrt) noun, plural femes covert
A married woman.
[From Anglo-French feme covert, from feme (woman) + covert (protected).]
A feme covert is not the feminine equivalent of 007. Rather, it's a legal term to describe a married woman, one who is covered or protected by a husband. Some have interpreted the term literally to indicate a women covered by a veil. The opposite of this is feme sole, a single woman, whether divorced, widowed, or never married.
From: Dave Zobel (zobeldaveATaol.com)
Subject: feme covert a la Russe
Refer: http://wordsmith.org/words/feme_covert.html**
In Russian, the predicate adjective "married", when applied to a gentleman, is /zhenat/ (literally, "wifed"). His lady, on the other hand, is /zamuzhem/ (literally, "behind [her] husband"). This asymmetry carries over from the two distinct verbs meaning "to marry" -- one for each gender.
My Russian wife assures me that the wife is behind the husband in the same way that the driver is behind the mule.
**feme covert (fem KOV-uhrt) noun, plural femes covert
A married woman.
[From Anglo-French feme covert, from feme (woman) + covert (protected).]
A feme covert is not the feminine equivalent of 007. Rather, it's a legal term to describe a married woman, one who is covered or protected by a husband. Some have interpreted the term literally to indicate a women covered by a veil. The opposite of this is feme sole, a single woman, whether divorced, widowed, or never married.
