From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Husband \Hus"band\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Husbanded; p. pr. &
vb. n. Husbanding.]
1. To direct and manage with frugality; to use or employ to
good purpose and the best advantage; to spend, apply, or
use, with economy.
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For my means, I'll husband them so well,
They shall go far. --Shak.
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2. To cultivate, as land; to till. [R.]
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Land so trim and rarely husbanded. --Evelyn.
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3. To furnish with a husband. [R.] --Shak.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Husband \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?sb[=o]ndi 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. [Obs.]
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2. A cultivator; a tiller; a husbandman. [Obs.] --Shak.
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The painful husband, plowing up his ground.
--Hakewill.
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He is the neatest husband for curious ordering his
domestic and field accommodations. --Evelyn.
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3. One who manages or directs with prudence and economy; a
frugal person; an economist. [R.]
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God knows how little time is left me, and may I be a
good husband, to improve the short remnant left me.
--Fuller.
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4. A married man; a man who has a wife; -- the correlative to
wife.
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The husband and wife are one person in law.
--Blackstone.
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5. The male of a pair of animals. [R.] --Dryden.
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A ship's husband (Naut.), an agent representing the owners
of a ship, who manages its expenses and receipts.
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