Derogatory and rare term for a wife or woman, implying she is showy, deceptive, or not what she seems. The kanji 幻 (phantom) and 衒 (display) reinforce this negative nuance.
Rare, archaic term for a prostitute or streetwalker, likely from the idea of a woman who displays herself (衒妻) or is not a genuine wife. Not used in modern Japanese.
He scornfully called his own wife a 'phantom wife' (幻妻).
The word 衒妻 appears in Edo-period documents.
Rare kanji spelling; the character 幻 suggests something illusory or phantom-like, fitting the derogatory nuance.
Alternate rare kanji spelling; 衒 means 'show off' or 'display', implying a woman who flaunts herself.
The exact derivation is uncertain. The spellings 幻妻 (phantom wife) and 衒妻 (displaying wife) suggest a coined term combining 幻/衒 with 妻 to convey a derogatory sense of a deceptive or showy woman, later extended to mean prostitute.