English

ex-wife

From ex- + wife.

A compound of ex- + wife

Proto-Indo-European *eǵ-

Latin ex ‘out of, from’

English ex-

Proto-Germanic *wībą ‘woman’

Proto-West Germanic *wīb ‘woman’

Old English wīf ‘woman’

Middle English wyf ‘woman’

English wife

Today it means

noun A former wife (from a previous marriage after a divorce).

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.