weaker vessel

noun

weaker vessel

noun
1

Dated, Idiomatic, Offensive A woman; women collectively.

  • Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Peter 3:7:
  • Certainly, when Satan first made the Attempt upon Eve, he did not think he should have so easily conquered her. . . . Well might she be said to be the weaker Vessel, tho’ Adam himself had little enough to say for his being the stronger.1727, Daniel Defoe, chapter 8, in The Political History of the Devil:
1 more example
  • When women are the advisers, the lords of creation don't take the advice till they have persuaded themselves that it is just what they intended to do. Then they act upon it, and, if it succeeds, they give the weaker vessel half the credit of it. If it fails, they generously give her the whole.1868–1869, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, chapter 41, in Little Women: […], (please specify |part=1 or 2), Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, →OCLC:
Related terms
fair sex, weaker sex

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.