Xanthippe, zan-thip'e, the wife of Socrates. She is celebrated in literature for a shrewish temper. Many ancedotes, very probably the products of Athenian wit, are told of the scolding Xanthippe and her good-natured, shiftless husband. It was a standing amusement in Athens to tell the latest story about Xanthippe. To an anxious, unappreciative wife, Socrates might easily appear a thriftless, lounging fellow, who took little pains to provide his family with the necessities of life. On one occasion it is said Xanthippe followed up a vigorous tirade on his general worthlessness by sousing him with a pail of water. The only effect on the philosopher was to draw out a remark to the effect that, in her case, at least, thunder was a sure sign of rain. Whatever the facts relative to the social relations of the family and the wife's temper may be, Xanthippe has become a proverbial name for a scolding wife. See SOCRATES.