Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a wife or regular girlfriend.

1786		Burns ‘The Cotter’s Saturday Night’ in Poetical Works (1871) 66: His thrifty Wifie’s smile.
1839		Crim.-Con. Gaz. 23 Mar. 89/1: Thinks I Won’t you catch it when wifey comes to know.
1849		Morn. Advertiser (London) 25 June 4/1: ‘I wonder, dear old Hubby, whether you will find time to read a letter from little wifey’.
1869		J. Greenwood Seven Curses of London 202: If you was getting him into the Garrick the wifey could talk to him so fine.
1873		W.H. Thomes Slaver’s Adventures 163: The old wretch [...] begged me to take his hundred niggers and give him a white wifey.
1880		‘Lady Pokingham’ in Pearl 10 Apr. 28: I have asked you to try and find me a nice little darling wifey-pifey, who would lead me with her little finger.
1895		Coventry Eve. Teleg. 16 Dec. 3/6: Now, wifey, begin with your curtain lecture, else I shan’t get to sleep, being so accustomed to it.
1896		Pink & LeBrunn [perf. Marie Lloyd] Chance Your Luck 🎵 When wifey wants to know the reason why / Say, ‘I’ve been to see a fire?’ p’r’aps she’ll say you are a liar.
1899		Ade Fables in Sl. (1902) 121: If you want to adjust yourself with Wifey, you come down to Cases.
1900		‘Doss Chiderdoss’ ‘Alarming Spread of ‘Doping’’ Sporting Times 8 Dec. 1/4: Next morning, when an empty breakfast table graced the show, / The remarks he made his wifie’s wrath excited.
1904		Sun. Times (Perth) 15 May 4/8: Show us why, if one is pretty, / No plain wifey gets the spike.
1907		B. Fisher A. Mutt in Blackbeard Compilation (1977) 4: Mr. A. Mutt Confesses All to Wifie and Says ‘Never Again.’.
1908		K. McGaffey Sorrows of a Show Girl Ch. xvii: And hauling off wifey hangs one on Alla’s map.
1910		Truth (Perth) 10 Dec. 4/8: And the wifey of his buzzum— / What of her, perhaps you’ll say?
1912		Ade Knocking the Neighbors 206–7: Wifey never batted an Eye.
1914		Truth (Melbourne) 31 Jan. 8/4: [headline] Bigamist Beckman. Weds Annie Woodhouse while His Wifie is Alive.
1913		G. Robey [perf.] ‘And Very Nice Too’ 🎵 ‘Why there goes the wifey,’ said he.
1919		C.E. Piesbergen Overseas with an Aero Squadron 56: ‘Money-wild’ has the cubes and is trying to earn the cost of wifie’s new shoes.
1920		Bulletin (Sydney) 12 Feb. 16/3: [cartoon caption] wifie What do you think of this brute leading a double life [etc].
1925		S. Lewis Arrowsmith 457: You might invite old Clif up t’ the house for dinner, to meet the new lil wifey.
1927		F, Leo [perf. Tom Clare] ‘Does anybody want my wife?’ 🎵 Not knowing wifey stood behind him he cried out with glee / ‘Does anybody want my wife?’.
1929		M. Levin Reporter 188: Let’s – be hubby and wifie, eh kid?
1934		B. Traven Death Ship 14: Leave me in peace and go to your wifie.
1937		T.A. Staple ‘Double Feature’ in N.Y. Age 13 Feb. 7/2: The fact that [a] marriage license is usually obtained before a gentleman calls a lady ‘wifie’ doesn’t seem to enter Eddie Parkus’ head for he has several pretty ones.
1937		West. Argus (Kalgoorlie, WA) 6 July 17/1: Wifey said she felt ill and asked her spouse to go to the rubbadub for a deaner’s worth of brandy.
1942		Detroit Free Press (MI) 8 Mar. 57/2: [pic. caption] Hubby is off to his club for the evening. Wifey is bored.
1958		Casey ‘Kid’ Motsisi ‘Mattress’ Casey and Co. (1978) 18: Some woman whom I reckon is Mr Bible-Swinger’s illegally married wifey.
1962		Kerouac letter 16 Feb. in Charters II (1999) 329: Three previous bloodtests were arranged but wifey never showed up.
1979		S. King Dead Zone (1980) 19: Get a job and find a little wifey.
1986		P. Barker Liza’s England (1996) 193: ‘Who told you?’ ‘Jan. The little wifie.’.
1992		A. Duff One Night Out Stealing 33: He’d help put em to bed, then he and wifey’d go back to the fire.
2000		P. Beatty Tuff 92: ‘You got a wifey, Rabbi?’ [...] ‘You mean wife? No.’ ‘I’m saying, you got a girl?’.
2005		advicechick.com 8 Nov. 🌐 Men rarely leave their wives because some ho’ bitch can put it on him better than wifey.
2010		A. Steinberg Running the Books 7: Illicit calls to [...] wifeys.
2010		A. Steinberg Running the Books 327: You got a wifey stashed back there?
2014		T.I. ‘King’ 🎵 You say she wifey, I say she a party girl / Type to eat bitches out when she on molly.
2015		Jamaica Obs. 31 July 🌐 What if he doesn’t want to give you the title of wifey?
2017		theculturetrip.com ‘Guide to London Slang 10 Jan. 🌐 Wifey – girlfriend, bestie.
2017		Visalia Times-Delta (CA) 16 Dec. C1/1: Our 4-year-old [...] was in Tulare’s Christmas parade [...] Wifey and I tagged along.
2020		G. Krauze What They Was 53: Taz’s wifey bells him.

2. attrib. use of sense 1, pertaining to a wife, the implication is of respectable behaviour.

1946		Star Press (Muncie, IN) 17 Mar. 5/5: [He] wrote [...] expressing his disgust of the typical American city and ‘the house-wifey’ women.
1999		Dr Dre ‘Murder Ink’ 🎵 Resume the wifey boo shit, cause yo my man don’t know / that his bitch is straight ill, servin ass with fo’fo’.

3. (US prison) a male inmate’s male lover.

1959

(ref. to 1920s) G. Duffy Warden’s Wife 149: A ‘girl’ wasn’t concerned. ‘Wifie’ was a male inmate whose conduct had aroused suspicion.