common-law husband. The husband in a common-law marriage; a man who contracts an informal marriage with a woman and then holds himself out to the community as being married to her. See common-law marriage under MARRIAGE(1).
husband
husband. A married man; a man who has a lawful wife living. • Etymologically, the word signified the house bond, the man who, according to Saxon ideas and institutions, held around him the family, for which he was legally responsible. [Cases: Husband and Wife 1.]