proverb · Source-linked selection
A good wife and health Are a man's best wealth.
A good wife and health Are a man's best wealth.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
A caring partnership and wellbeing can matter more than material possessions. The saying’s language of a wife as wealth needs a reading that preserves her independent dignity.
What the words are saying
The comparison values an intimate relationship alongside health above money. It can invite gratitude for care and everyday wellbeing. A partner is not an asset, and a person with illness or disability does not thereby have a lesser life or worth. A careful interpretation includes mutual respect and recognises many forms of meaningful connection rather than treating one household arrangement as everyone’s ideal.
Everyday example
Partners appreciate mutual care during a difficult period without describing one person as the other’s possession.
When to use it
Use it to reflect on valued relationships beyond money.
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What it does not mean
People are not assets, and health or relationship status does not determine human worth.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 1764 · Wife (good)
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English