I am not an expert in etymology, but etymologically, the word ‘husband’ is defined as a man (or male) in a marital relationship. Man or Male in this context is etymologically defined in terms of the physical and gender characteristics of the person.

The reverse is etymologically true of the word, ‘wife’.

As I said earlier, I’m not an etymology expert. But, I do know that while the meaning of words, over time, can be expanded to cover new developments and changing culture, the new phenomenon is often similar in nature and characteristics, thus making it easier for users of the word to identify it with the new developments or changing culture, without creating confusion in the minds of society and especially new learners of the language.

In the definition of ‘husband’, etymologically, a man refers to an individual of a specific gender and physical attributes. The same applies to a woman, in the definition of ‘wife’. Those specific gender and physical attributes of man and woman do not change (even if you want to include a transgender person), and therefore etymologically, the definition of husband and wife also do not change.

It is my strong opinion that, etymologically, the word ‘husband’ can ONLY refer to a married man (a person of the male gender and physical attributes). Similarly, the word ‘wife’ can ONLY refer to a married woman (a person of the female gender and physical attributes).

Any attempt to force a new meaning of husband and wife on society in order to accommodate lesbian and gay couples is etymologically wrong and only creates confusion in the minds of people, especially young learners of the language. If this is deliberately being done to force the indoctrination of same-sex marriage on society, that’s equally wrong and unacceptable. Forcing the media to use phrases like ‘her wife’ and ‘his husband’ is unacceptable and etymologically wrong and disingenuous.

You can find a new lexicon to describe your new legal relationships, but you cannot have a world where one word can mean two things that are diametrically opposite to each other in nature and characteristics! We cannot have a world where we define a man as both a male and a female. And if a man cannot be defined to include a female, then a husband can also not be defined as a man or woman in a marital relationship.