Meaning of old-wifish | Babel Free

Definitions

Resembling or characteristic of an old wife.

Examples

“As for vngooſtly and olde wyueſh fables, caſt them awaye, but exercyſe thy ſelfe vnto godlynes.”

“But I wil ceaſe my cõplayning ſeing I know⟳ that now is the latter tyme wherof the prophetes / chriſt / and the apoſtles did prophecy that there ſhuld come⟳ falſe prophetes which ſhuld face⟳ out the goſpel and imagyne a newe goſpel euen ſtynking / hethenyſſh / old wiuyſſh and capcyos fables inuented by the ſuttyl wit of man as peter and paul calle them / and of theſe falſe prophetes (that is to ſay Antichriſt) did daniel chriſt and paul admoniſſh us that he ſhuld extolle him ſelf a boue god and ſhuld robbe god of his name⟳ / pour⟳ / wiſdom / and mercy and ſhuld accuſe him of right wiſnes / cruelnes and weakenes & vnabylyte / which thing we do manifeſtly ſee in maner in all their doctrynes / as in their pardons / in the popes your / in purgatory / in pryuate maſſes / in the prayng vnto ſaintes / in worſhipyng of Images / in the vowes of monkes and priſtes / and in all mans tradicyons.”

“The Somerville History I have⟳ seen, and must seriously beseech you to publish⟳ it, as it is replete with entertainment,—full of lies, certes,—but the gossip of an old-wifish lord, which is excellent.”

“Sheringham, having mentioned the gods of the Germans, adds, “Among us, truly, this superstition, and foolish credulity, among the vulgar, is not yet left off; for I know⟳ not what fables old women suggest⟳ to boys and girls about elves (with us by another word called fairies), by which their tender minds they so imbue, that they never depose these old-wifish ravings, but deliver⟳ them to others, and vulgarly affirm that groups of elves sometimes dance⟳ in bed-chambers, sometimes (that they may benefit the maids) scour and cleanse the pavement, and sometimes are wont to grind⟳ with a hand-mill.””

““The Night Side of Nature” has not merely been denounced as a superstitious and old-wifish production, as it was certain to be reckoned by every superstitious and old-wifish person in the kingdom, whose superstition and old-wifishness happened to be of his own⟳ age—the beliefs of one period of time becoming superstitious as soon as they are superseded by new beliefs, destined in their turn⟳ to be degraded to the condition and name⟳ of superstitions—but “The Night Side of Nature” has not merely been condemned as superstitious, anile, silly, and so forth, but has been anathematised with much zeal, as “detestable,” “abominable,” and “dangerous.””

““Deprecate the irreligious and oldwifish mythologies, and practise⟳ yourself in piety,” […]”

“Before the nation assumes the sober hues of pure reason⟳ and unpitying logic, in lieu of the picturesque scraps of folk-lore and old-wifish beliefs in which imagination was wont to clothe it, no office can be more grateful to posterity than for enthusiastic inquirers to search⟳ out and put⟳ on record⟳ these notes of fairy music which our villagers used to listen⟳ to with such content.”

“Among the Apocryphal Gospels’ fables of what befell during the Silent Years, there are some that are concerned with the school-days of Jesus—mostly silly and sometimes blasphemous stories of the sort⟳ which St. Paul brands as ‘profane and old-wifish myths’ (1 Ti 4⁷).”

CEFR level