subs. (old).—A masterful woman; a virago.
1383. CHAUCER, The Canterbury Tales, ‘Clerk’s Tale,’ 9071.
| Ye ARCHEWIVES, stondeth ay at defence, | |
| Sin ye be strong as is a gret camaille, | |
| Ne suffreth not that men do you offence. |
c. 1530. Political, Religious, and Love Poems [E.E.T.S.], 46.
| But ARCHWYFES eger in ther violence, | |
| Ferse as a tigre for to make affray. |
