Tell me more ×
English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.

In Hindi, there is a phrase called "zoru ka gulaam". Translated in English as "slave of his wife". Typically the people who get this honorary title are those who seem to care for their wife more than expected. Not only care but they also never seem to question any of their wives actions. In short, they do as their wives please.

What is the word for these kind of people in English language?

share|improve this question
2  
Henpecked husband? – Kris Feb 5 at 8:06
Is there a connotation that the man is less masculine because of this extreme devotion? – Kristina Lopez Feb 5 at 8:40
@KristinaLopez - Yes, there is a slight implied connotation. – Mohit Feb 5 at 9:13
1  
@Mohit: Only a slight implied connotation? Are you implying that Indian men are less macho than all the other men in the world? Don't the recent gang rapes in India -- perpetrated to teach those uppity women who dared go out alone at night -- belie that? Uxorious husbands are always considered less "manly" (whatever that means) because they are generally submissive; they're often called Casper Milquetoasts . – Bill Franke Feb 5 at 9:23

2 Answers

up vote 9 down vote accepted

Consider:

  • Uxorious: having or showing a great or excessive fondness for one’s wife
  • Henpecked: henpecked husbands
  • Whipped/ pussywhipped (vulgar slang): every man who is not a complete pussy-whipped sap must hope he succeeds
  • Under the thumb: The poor guy; he squirms under the thumb of a domineering wife 1

You could also call him an overly doting husband. Such husbands are often also said to have been cowed down by their wives.

share|improve this answer
1: does not fit "slave of his wife"; 2,3: are wrt to the wife, not the man; so where's the answer? – Kris Feb 5 at 8:15
-1 Furthermore, pussywhipped is taboo slang. – Kris Feb 5 at 8:25
3  
@Kris: From what I see on American TV (HBO, Cinemax, & other movie channels that rape the Asian airwaves) and the Internet, nothing is taboo anymore, especially vulgar language: It's the new "acceptable" and "idiomatic". Were you to be "whipped" by anyone who's a member of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot, then you'd certainly be eligible to be called pussywhipped. – Bill Franke Feb 5 at 8:49
3  
+1 for uxorious. Though it's a not a common word, it's often used in the context desired by the O.P., despite the objection of @Kris. For example: "Woodruff himself is given out as a uxorious fool: ‘The more he did for her the less she cared for him. She was a monster from head to toe.’ (from Kate Winslow's Sexual Politics, 1970) Also: "uxorious entered English by the end of the C16th to mean dotingly or submissively fond of a wife. Examples in the OED reveal a male neurotic fear of wifely domination. (Jane Mills, Womanwords: a dictionary of words about women, 1992) – J.R. Feb 5 at 9:56
1  
Excellent comprehensive answer with nuances. @Kris: we (the ELU community) do not welcome people using taboo words in their explanations. But on the contrary we highly welcome referring to and describing such taboo words.. – Mitch Feb 5 at 14:41
show 2 more comments

I would say the English version is henpecked husband. If the wife is cheating and harassing her hubby and he likes it there is sexual fetish called cuckold or cuck for short. I believe you can say someone is cuck if he is devoid, strip of his manhood.

share|improve this answer
I didn't know that interpretation of cuckold - I only knew of it as an insult to a man who has been symbolically castrated by his domineering wife. – Kristina Lopez Feb 5 at 9:20
1  
@Kristina: "Main Entry: cuckold // Function:noun // Inflected Form:-s // Etymology:Middle English cukeweld, cokewold /// 1 : a man whose wife is unfaithful : the husband of an adulteress" (MW3UDE) – Bill Franke Feb 5 at 9:28

protected by RegDwighт Feb 5 at 9:35

This question is protected to prevent "thanks!", "me too!", or spam answers by new users. To answer it, you must have earned at least 10 reputation on this site.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.