henpeck

English

WOTD – 30 May 2010

Etymology

hen +‎ peck

Pronunciation

(UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈhɛn.pɛk/
Audio (AU) (file)

Verb

henpeck (third-person singular simple present henpecks, present participle henpecking, simple past and past participle henpecked)

(chiefly by a wife) To nag persistently.
- 1819, Lord Byron, Don Juan, I:
  Oh! ye lords of ladies intellectual, / Inform us truly, have they not hen-peck'd you all?

Derived terms

henpecked

Translations

to nag persistently

Finnish: nalkuttaa (fi)
French: persécuter (fr), barber (fr), importuner (fr), harceler (fr), emmerder (fr) (gross), faire chier (fr) (very gross), casser les couilles (fr) (very gross)
Italian: importunare (it), punzecchiare (it)
Mandarin: 唠叨 (zh)

Maori: haku
Russian: держа́ть под каблуком (deržátʹ pod kablukom)
Spanish: jorobar (es), fastidiar (es), importunar (es), hostigar (es), acosar (es), joder (es) (very gross)

Noun

henpeck (plural henpecks)

(rare) A man who is meekly subservient to his wife.
- 1985, James Mallahan Cain, ‎Roy Hoopes, ‎Michael Hinden, 60 Years of Journalism (page 40)
  The moment he allows the emphasis to swing the other way he becomes a sit-by-the-fire, a cockerel, a drone, a henpeck. A woman steps into this man's sphere at her peril.