Afrikaans man | ||
Albanian burri | ||
Amharic ባል | ||
Arabic الزوج | ||
Armenian ամուսին | ||
Assamese পতি | ||
Aymara chacha | ||
Azerbaijani ər | ||
Bambara furucɛ | ||
Basque senarra | ||
Belarusian муж | ||
Bengali স্বামী | ||
Bhojpuri खसम | ||
Bosnian muž | ||
Bulgarian съпруг | ||
Catalan marit | ||
Cebuano bana | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 丈夫 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 丈夫 | ||
Corsican maritu | ||
Croatian suprug | ||
Czech manžel | ||
Danish ægtemand | ||
Dhivehi ފިރިމީހާ | ||
Dogri घरै-आहला | ||
Dutch man | ||
English husband | ||
Esperanto edzo | ||
Estonian abikaasa | ||
Ewe srɔ̃ ŋutsu | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) asawa | ||
Finnish aviomies | ||
French mari | ||
Frisian man | ||
Galician marido | ||
Georgian ქმარი | ||
German mann | ||
Greek σύζυγος | ||
Guarani ména | ||
Gujarati પતિ | ||
Haitian Creole mari | ||
Hausa miji | ||
Hawaiian kāne | ||
Hebrew בַּעַל | ||
Hindi पति | ||
Hmong tus txiv | ||
Hungarian férj | ||
Icelandic eiginmaður | ||
Igbo di | ||
Ilocano asawa a lalaki | ||
Indonesian suami | ||
Irish fear céile | ||
Italian marito | ||
Japanese 夫 | ||
Javanese bojo lanang | ||
Kannada ಪತಿ | ||
Kazakh күйеу | ||
Khmer ប្តី | ||
Kinyarwanda umugabo | ||
Konkani घोव | ||
Korean 남편 | ||
Krio maredman | ||
Kurdish mêr | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) مێرد | ||
Kyrgyz күйөө | ||
Lao ຜົວ | ||
Latin vir | ||
Latvian vīrs | ||
Lingala mobali | ||
Lithuanian vyras | ||
Luganda mwaami | ||
Luxembourgish mann | ||
Macedonian сопруг | ||
Maithili पति | ||
Malagasy lehilahy | ||
Malay suami | ||
Malayalam ഭർത്താവ് | ||
Maltese raġel | ||
Maori tane | ||
Marathi पती | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯃꯄꯨꯔꯣꯏꯕ | ||
Mizo pasal | ||
Mongolian нөхөр | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ခင်ပွန်း | ||
Nepali पति | ||
Norwegian mann | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) mwamuna | ||
Odia (Oriya) ସ୍ୱାମୀ | ||
Oromo abbaa warraa | ||
Pashto میړه | ||
Persian شوهر | ||
Polish mąż | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) marido | ||
Punjabi ਪਤੀ | ||
Quechua qusa | ||
Romanian soț | ||
Russian муж | ||
Samoan tane | ||
Sanskrit भर्ता | ||
Scots Gaelic cèile | ||
Sepedi molekane wa monna | ||
Serbian муж | ||
Sesotho monna | ||
Shona murume | ||
Sindhi مڙس | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) ස්වාමිපුරුෂයා | ||
Slovak manžel | ||
Slovenian mož | ||
Somali ninkeeda | ||
Spanish marido | ||
Sundanese carogé | ||
Swahili mume | ||
Swedish make | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) asawa | ||
Tajik шавҳар | ||
Tamil கணவர் | ||
Tatar ир | ||
Telugu భర్త | ||
Thai สามี | ||
Tigrinya በዓል ገዛ | ||
Tsonga nuna | ||
Turkish koca | ||
Turkmen adamsy | ||
Twi (Akan) kunu | ||
Ukrainian чоловік | ||
Urdu شوہر | ||
Uyghur ئېرى | ||
Uzbek er | ||
Vietnamese người chồng | ||
Welsh gwr | ||
Xhosa umyeni | ||
Yiddish מאן | ||
Yoruba ọkọ | ||
Zulu umyeni |
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | In Afrikaans, "man" not only means "husband" but also refers to a male person or mankind as a whole. |
| Albanian | In the southern Gheg dialect of Albania, "burri" can also refer to a young man or a groom. |
| Amharic | The word "ባል" can also refer to a master or owner, and is cognate with the Arabic word "ba'l" meaning "lord" or "master". |
| Arabic | Etymology: from the verb زَوّجَ (zawwaja) "to pair, to mate"} |
| Armenian | The word `ամուսին` is etymologically related to the word `ամոս` (mos), meaning "husband" or "master of the house" in Armenian, and the Indo-European root *meh₂- "to measure," suggesting "one who measures out provisions." |
| Azerbaijani | The word "ər" is etymologically related to the Persian and Kurdish words "mar" and "mēr" (husband, man) |
| Basque | The word 'senarra' also refers to a married man of the town council. |
| Belarusian | The word "муж" (husband) comes from the Proto-Slavic word "*mǫžь", which also meant "man", "male", or "warrior" |
| Bengali | The word 'স্বামী' in Bengali is derived from the Sanskrit word 'स्वामी' (svāmi), meaning 'master' or 'lord'. |
| Bosnian | Interestingly, "muž" can also refer to a man's best friend or to close male friends. |
| Bulgarian | The word "съпруг" (husband) can have its roots in the verb "съпрягам" (to join, to marry) in Church Slavonic. |
| Catalan | The term 'marit' is also used in some Catalan dialects and is derived from the Latin 'maritus' and refers to a 'man' or 'male partner'. |
| Cebuano | The word 'bana' also has a similar meaning to the Indonesian word for 'slave' or 'serf'. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | The character 侏 ("husband") can also mean "strong and manly" in Chinese |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 丈夫 (literally “strong man”) referred to a warrior or a successful man in ancient China. |
| Corsican | "Maritu" can also refer to a stallion, or to a man in general. |
| Croatian | The Croatian word "suprug" also means "spouse" or "mate". It is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*suprъgъ", which had the same meaning. |
| Czech | The word "manžel" in Czech comes from ancient Proto-Slavic "*mǫžь", meaning "man", "male", or "manly". |
| Danish | The word 'ægtemand' comes from the Old Norse 'eiginmaðr,' meaning 'owner-man' or 'man of property'. |
| Dutch | In Dutch, the word "man" can also refer to a male person or a person in general, making it a homonym with multiple meanings. |
| Esperanto | The word "edzo" can also mean "trainer" or "instructor" in Esperanto. |
| Estonian | Abikaasa derives from a compound word meaning "a spouse who is not a brother or sister." |
| Finnish | 'Aviomies' is a compound word meaning 'a man of marriage' and a formal word for 'husband' |
| French | The word "mari" in French, which means "husband," comes from the Latin word "maritus," which means "married man". |
| Frisian | The word "man" in Frisian is derived from the Germanic word "manus", meaning "human being". |
| Galician | In Galician, "marido" also refers to a kind of worm found in fruit. |
| Georgian | The word "ქმარი" also means "creator" or "maker" in Georgian. |
| German | The word "Mann" in German can also refer to a "person" or "human being" in a general sense, and is derived from the Proto-Germanic word "manwaz" meaning "human." |
| Greek | "Σύζυγος" can refer to either a "husband" or a "wife." |
| Gujarati | The Gujarati word "પતિ" can also refer to the master of a house or a person who protects or sustains something. |
| Haitian Creole | In Haitian Creole, "mari" can also refer to a male friend or lover, not just a spouse. |
| Hausa | The word "miji" can also refer to a "groom" or "male spouse". |
| Hawaiian | In Hawaiian, 'kane' can have the metaphorical sense of 'the male portion of any paired thing'. |
| Hebrew | The Hebrew word "בַּעַל" also means "master, owner, lord" and was originally used to refer to the Canaanite god of storms and fertility. |
| Hindi | 'पति' also means 'lord,' 'master,' or 'protector,' connoting a husband's traditional role as the head of the household. |
| Hmong | The Hmong word 'tus txiv' literally translates to 'the one who raises children', indicating the father's primary role as a caregiver. |
| Hungarian | Though it now only means "husband", "férj" originally meant "man" or "male". |
| Icelandic | Its meaning has extended to include 'master of the house' or 'landowner' and is used in legal language to refer to men who are not married but have children. |
| Igbo | "Di" in Igbo can also mean "lord" or "master". |
| Indonesian | The word 'suami' in Indonesian also has meanings of 'friend' and 'close companion'. |
| Irish | The word 'fear céile' translates literally as 'man of the companion', implying that a man and woman were considered companions in a marriage. |
| Italian | The word "marito" is derived from the Latin "maritus", meaning "married man" or "master of the house". |
| Japanese | Historically, 夫 was used to refer to men in general, but over time its meaning has narrowed to mean “husband. |
| Javanese | The word "bojo lanang" can be etymologically broken down into "bojo" (husband or wife) and "lanang" (male gender), suggesting a general term for spouse without specific gender connotation. |
| Kannada | The term "ಪತಿ" in Kannada is derived from the Sanskrit word "पति" (pati), meaning "lord" or "master", and can also refer to a priest or a sage. |
| Kazakh | The word "күйеу" is derived from the Proto-Turkic word "*küjü" meaning "groom" or "son-in-law". |
| Khmer | The Khmer word "ប្តី" is also used in the sense of "owner" or "master". |
| Korean | The word '남편' (husband) in Korean shares the same etymology as the word '남성' (male), which is '남' (south), and is related to the idea of the husband being the head of the household and the protector of the family, who stays at home and looks after the family's affairs |
| Kurdish | In some Kurdish dialects, "mêr" can also refer to a "man" or "male". |
| Kyrgyz | The Kyrgyz word "күйөө" is also used to refer to a "groom". |
| Lao | The word "ຜົວ" also refers to a lover or male partner, not necessarily a husband. |
| Latin | Latin "vir" also refers to a warrior and was applied to men as a whole, and later came to mean a husband. |
| Latvian | The word "vīrs" in Latvian originated from the Indo-European root *wih₂os, meaning "man" or "male". |
| Lithuanian | Vyras is also a Baltic term meaning "man", as in "vyriška " ("men's") and "vyriškumas " ("masculinity"). |
| Luxembourgish | "Mann" can also refer to a vassal, a servant or a person in general, as it is derived from the Latin "manere," meaning "to remain". |
| Macedonian | The word "сопруг" can also refer to a consort or a spouse of any gender. |
| Malagasy | In the 18th century, 'lehilahy' meant 'man' or 'male', and 'vadi' was the primary word for 'husband'. |
| Malay | The Malay word "suami" is cognate with "swami", meaning "owner" or "lord" in Indo-European languages. |
| Malayalam | The root word "bharta" means one who carries, and in old Indian customs there was special emphasis on the husband as the carrier of his wife after the wedding. |
| Maltese | The word "raġel" in Maltese comes from the Arabic word "rajul" meaning "man" or "male". |
| Maori | Tane, in Maori, also refers to the god of the forest and birds, as well as the personification of the sky who separated Rangi (heaven) from Papa (earth). |
| Marathi | The Marathi word "पती" (husband) is derived from the Sanskrit word "पति" (lord, master) and also refers to a husband's ownership rights over his wife. |
| Mongolian | The word "нөхөр" is derived from the Sanskrit word "sacara", meaning "companion" or "friend". |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | The word "ခင်ပွန်း" derives from the Proto-Burushaski term for "male elder brother" and originally referred to the husband of one's wife's older sister. |
| Nepali | The Sanskrit root of "पति" is also the root of "पाति" meaning "master", which is in turn derived from the Proto-Indo-European word "*poteis" with the same root. |
| Norwegian | The word 'mann' in Norwegian derives from the Old Norse word 'maðr', meaning 'man', 'male', or 'human being'. |
| Pashto | "میړه" can also refer to any male, or a young man who is brave and has reached the age of maturity. |
| Persian | The Persian word "شوهر" can also mean "father-in-law" or "brother-in-law" depending on the context. |
| Polish | In Polish, the word "mąż" not only means "husband" but also "man" and "male". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In some parts of Brazil, "marido" can also mean "lover", while in the northeast of the country it can refer to a "male partner". |
| Punjabi | ਪਤੀ is also an epithet of Lord Shiva in Hinduism and is used to address males out of respect. |
| Romanian | The word 'soț' is derived from the Latin 'socius', meaning 'companion', and also refers to the male partner in a marriage or other romantic relationship. |
| Russian | The word муж in Russian can also refer to a male person, a man. |
| Samoan | The word 'tane' derives from the Proto-Polynesian word for 'man, male, or human'. |
| Scots Gaelic | In Scots Gaelic, the word "cèile" can also refer to a friend, companion, or guest, and is not limited to the meaning of "husband." |
| Serbian | "Муж" in Serbian also means "male", "man" or "guy", depending on the context. |
| Sesotho | ''Monna'' is also used figuratively to denote any male friend or acquaintance. |
| Shona | The word 'murume' can also refer to a man or a male person in general, highlighting the broader context of masculinity and male identity in Shona culture. |
| Sindhi | The word "مڙس" (husband) in Sindhi is derived from the Sanskrit word "मर्द" (man) and also means "brave" or "strong". |
| Slovak | The word 'manžel' is cognate not only to other Slavic languages like Czech, Russian and Polish but also to the Old Prussian word 'mans', 'man', and to Latin words like 'manus', meaning 'hand', and 'mancipare', signifying 'to give into someone's hand' or, more generally, 'to take control of'. |
| Slovenian | The word "mož" can also mean "man" or "male". |
| Somali | The term can also refer to a young man without a wife, although its primary meaning is a married man. |
| Spanish | "Marido" comes from the Latin word "maritus", which also means "husband", and is related to "mas", meaning "male". |
| Sundanese | Other meanings include 'the head of a family', the 'owner of something', and 'a male person' |
| Swahili | The Swahili word "mume" is derived from the Arabic word "mu'min" (believer), suggesting the role of a spouse as a source of support and faith. |
| Swedish | In Old Swedish, the word "make" meant "man" or "male," and in some dialects, it still retains this meaning. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | "Asawa" originally referred to any type of spouse, not only husbands, and comes from the same root as the word "asawaan," meaning "wedding ceremony." |
| Tajik | The word "шавҳар" (husband) in Tajik is derived from the Persian word "شوهر" (husband). |
| Tamil | In Tamil, the word கணவர் ('husband') can also refer to the husband of one's daughter or sister. |
| Telugu | The word "భర్త" (husband) can also refer to "a supporter" or "a protector" in Telugu. |
| Thai | The word “สามี” can also mean “the owner of an object” or “the master of a servant”. |
| Turkish | The word "koca" originally meant "strong" or "great," and was used to refer to both men and women. |
| Ukrainian | The word "чоловік" is derived from the Slavic root meaning "man" and is also used to refer to any man, regardless of their marital status. |
| Urdu | The Urdu word "شوہر" (husband) also means "owner" and derives from the Pahlavi "shuvhar," meaning "son-in-law". |
| Uzbek | "Er" also means a "man," an "individual," or a "person" |
| Vietnamese | In Sino-Vietnamese, "người chồng" is derived from "丈人" meaning "father-in-law", but due to social factors in feudal times, the meaning shifted to "husband". |
| Welsh | The Welsh word "gwr" is cognate with Irish "fear" and Latin "vir", meaning "man". |
| Xhosa | The word 'umyeni' is a cognate of the isiZulu word 'umyeni', which has a broader meaning of 'spouse' or 'partner'. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "מאן" (man) derives from the Hebrew "איש" (ish), meaning "man" or "husband," and ultimately from the Proto-Semitic root *ʾnš. |
| Yoruba | In the context of the Yoruba language, "ọkọ" can also refer to a "handle", signifying a tool or object that assists with a task or operation. |
| Zulu | "Umyeni" also means "owner" or "lord" in Zulu and is related to the word "umnikazi" ("wife"), which originally meant "owner of the house". |
| English | Husband was a term which originally meant 'master of a house' and could refer to both men and women. |