wifelet

/ˈwaɪflət/

Etymology

From wife + -let (diminutive suffix). Sense 3 (“long-term girlfriend; mistress”) is said to have been coined in the 1960s by Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath (1932–2020) in reference to his numerous mistresses.

noun

  1. A wife.“Annie, wifelet, let me tell you of one of my foreign flirtations—one that I have never yet even hinted to you.”
  2. A wife who is of small stature.“In stature the Manlet was dwarfish— / No burly big Blunderbore he: / And he wearily gazed on the crawfish / His Wifelet had dressed for his tea.”
  3. A long-term girlfriend; a mistress (the “other woman” in an extramarital relationship).“The Marquess [Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath], now 74, who is best known for his remarkably unorthodox dress sense, his pornographic murals and his series of wifelets, is fixing me with a priapic eye while slurping wine from a beer glass. "I need some more," he declares loudly. "Wine?" I inquire. "No, wifelets, of course."”