Goodwife usually abbreviated Goody, was a polite form of address for women, formerly used where "Mrs.", "Miss" and "Ms." would be used today. Its male counterpart is Goodman

Goodman (title)

Goodman was once a polite term of address, used where Mister would be used today. A man addressed by this title was, however, of a lesser social rank than a man addressed as Mister. Compare Goodwife....

. However, a woman addressed by this title was of a lesser social rank than a woman addressed as Mistress

Mistress (form of address)

Mistress is an old form of address for a woman. It implies "lady of the house", especially a woman who is head of a household.An example is Mistress Quickly in Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor. The title did not necessarily distinguish between married and unmarried women.The title Mrs. is...

.

"Goodwife" and "Goody" were used in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, and Colonial America, with the earliest known use circa 1325. By the mid-18th century they had become archaic

Archaism

In language, an archaism is the use of a form of speech or writing that is no longer current. This can either be done deliberately or as part of a specific jargon or formula...

 outside Scotland, and they are perhaps best known today as the forms of address used in Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller

Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...

's historical fiction The Crucible

The Crucible

The Crucible is a 1952 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatization of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay during 1692 and 1693. Miller wrote the play as an allegory of McCarthyism, when the US government blacklisted accused communists...

, in Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer.Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, a judge during the Salem Witch Trials...

's short story "Young Goodman Brown

Young Goodman Brown

"Young Goodman Brown" is a short story by American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. The story takes place in 17th century Puritan New England, a common setting for Hawthorne's works, and addresses the Calvinist/Puritan belief that humanity exists in a state of depravity, exempting those who are born in...

", the novels Magnus

Magnus (novel)

Magnus is a novel by the Orcadian author George Mackay Brown. His second novel, it was published in 1973. it is a fictional account of the life and execution of the twelfth century Saint, Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney.-Plot introduction:...

by George Mackay Brown

George Mackay Brown

George Mackay Brown , was a Scottish poet, author and dramatist, whose work has a distinctly Orcadian character...

 and The Witch of Blackbird Pond

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

The Witch of Blackbird Pond is a children's historical novel by American author Elizabeth George Speare, published in 1958. The story takes place in late-17th century New England...

by Elizabeth George Speare

Elizabeth George Speare

Elizabeth George Speare was an American children's author who won many awards for her historical fiction novels, including two Newbery Medals. She has been called one of America’s 100 most popular children’s authors and much of her work has become mandatory reading in many schools throughout the...

.

The term 'Goody Two-Shoes' comes from the book The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes

The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes

The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes is a little children's story published by John Newbery in London in 1765. The story popularized the phrase "goody two-shoes", often used to describe an excessively virtuous person.-Plot:...

, where the main character, addressed as Goody, only has one shoe until someone finally gives her a pair- 'two shoes'.