Hus″band (?), n. [OE. hosebonde, husbonde, a husband, the master of the house or family, AS. h�sbonda master of the house; h�s house + bunda, bonda, householder, husband; prob. fr. Icel. h�sbōndi house master, husband; h�s house + b�andi dwelling, inhabiting, p. pr. of b�a to dwell; akin to AS. b�an, Goth. bauan. See House Be, and cf. Bond a slave, Boor.] 1. The male head of a household; one who orders the economy of a family.
2. A cultivator; a tiller; a husbandman. Shak.
The painful husband, plowing up his ground. Hakewill.
He is the neatest husband for curious ordering his domestic and field accommodations. Evelyn.
3. One who manages or directs with prudence and economy; a frugal person; an economist.
God knows how little time is left me, and may I be a good husband, to improve the short remnant left me. Fuller.
4. A married man; a man who has a wife; — the correlative to wife.
The husband and wife are one person in law. Blackstone.
5. The male of a pair of animals. Dryden.
A ship's husband(Naut.), an agent representing the owners of a ship, who manages its expenses and receipts.