>>>No merely about it in my marriage. My wife and I work as a team. Without either of us carrying our weight the family would suffer.>>>
Hmmm, that would seem to be the definition of partner. Of course we are splitting hairs here. But as a woman (and you might be surprised to find, unless she is completely brainwashed) might not find it nice to be referred to as the 'helper'. That's why I like partner. Equal ground, equal in all ways. We may do different things, such as he tends to the garden, I do the cooking and canning. But we are partners shouldering the work equally but in different ways. But I am not his 'helper', I find that distasteful.
"But as a woman (and you might be surprised to find, unless she is completely brainwashed) might not find it nice to be referred to as the 'helper'."
I would respectfully suggest that you've been brainwashed by mainstream that the term "helper" is negative.
"That's why I like partner. Equal ground, equal in all ways."
As someone else suggested the term partner in this context implies more than I would want to use. She's not my partner; she's my wife and I am her husband.
"But we are partners shouldering the work equally but in different ways. But I am not his 'helper', I find that distasteful."
My wife doesn't but I don't use it other than to say "can you help me with this". We're also not equal in all ways. She's better at some things and I in others. We complement each other making a whole thats greater than the individual parts.
Partner expresses contract, not covenant.
If you use the word to refer to your covenant relationship with your husband, that's fine. But you should understand, especially in this homosexual millenium, that partner does not carry the best of connotations in a love relationship.
Shalom.