Obs. [f. ARCH- 2 + WIFE.] ‘A wife of a superior order’ (Tyrwhitt); a strong or masterful wife, a virago (‘Mannweib’ Mätzner).
c. 1386. Chaucer, Clerk’s T., 1139. Ye archiwyuis [v.r. Arche wiffes], stondeth at defense, Syn ye be stronge.
c. 1530. Pol., Rel. & L. Poems (1866), 46. But archwyfes, eger in ther violence, Ferse as a tigre for to make affray.
