Old Norse husbondi meant the man who dwells in the house
A husband is a man in a marital relationship—a spouse whose legal duties vary by culture. The English word descends from Old Norse husbondi, house plus dweller. After a valid wedding he keeps the title until divorce or death; a groom is only the ceremonial role before that status sticks.
The word travelled from Old Norse through Old English hūsbōnda to Middle English huseband, literally a householder. Its cousin husbandry meant running a household in the 14th century and now means careful use of resources or the raising of crops and livestock. When a marriage ends, the man becomes a widower or an ex-husband; in a marriage between two men, both are husbands. A husband names a man's role toward his spouse, whereas father places him in relation to his children, with or without a wedding.
In Roman, medieval and early modern households, a husband had to protect and support his wife, children, servants and animals, and wielded authority his wife lacked. Marrying for love was unusual in medieval and early modern Europe before becoming an influential ideal, and wives were not treated as legally independent. A dowry could be returned to the wife's family if he gravely wronged her, and he might leave a widow a dower, often a third or half of his estate. In Japan before the Meiji Civil Code of 1898, a wife's property passed to her husband except her clothing and a mirror stand.
Modern Western law has equalised spouses' rights. The wealthier partner may owe alimony after divorce, and marriage lets each speak for the other if one is incapacitated. China's 1950 marriage law gave spouses equal rights over marital property, and Hindu marriage, once seen as a bond for seven births, allowed no divorce before 1951. Islam caps a husband at four wives, provided he treats them justly.
Adultery laws long applied a double standard: in the UK and Australia, a wife's adultery alone was grounds for divorce while a husband's counted only in certain circumstances, and the Philippines still treats the two differently.
Source: Husband
