betrothal

Etymology

It is formed from English betroth + -al.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} The base verb is from Middle English bitreuthen, also betrouthen,^[2][5][7] formed from bi- and treuthe (“truth, pledge”),^[2][4][5] which is the word truth,^[2][4] from Old English treowðe (“truth, a pledge”).^[3] The OED reports Mätzner's suggestion that the verb followed the analogy of tréowsian (“to give one's word, pledge”), and notes that its form was later assimilated to troth.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The act of betrothing, or the fact of being betrothed: 1682, in R. Westcot's translation of Selden.^[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged gives 1683,^[4] and later datings are Etymonline's 1825,^[3] Dictionary.com's 1835–45^[6] and Barnhart's 1844.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The noun came late to a family that already had other words for the same idea: betrothing from the 14th century and betrothment from the 1580s.^[3] The verb behind it first meant to promise to marry a woman (1303); from 1566 it also meant to contract two people to each other.^[2][3] Black's Law Dictionary records a narrower use in church law, a religious ceremony confirming an agreement to marry, once held months or years before the wedding and now usually part of the marriage ceremony.^[8] The Oxford Dictionary of English now labels the word dated and formal.^[9]

Timeline

• 1682 – the act of betrothing; the fact of being betrothed.^[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged gives 1683.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of betrothing, or the fact of being betrothed: The two families marked the betrothal with a feast.^[10][4][2]
2. A mutual promise to marry; an engagement.^[10][11][9]
3. (ecclesiastical law) A religious ceremony confirming an agreement to marry.^[8]

Word family

• prebetrothal

Related words

• betroth
• troth
• truth

Usage notes

The OED explains the vowel of the base verb: as troth was shortened, many speakers extended its sound to betroth, though the historical pronunciation is that of clothe and loathe.^[2] For betrothal it lists American forms with both /ð/ and /θ/.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
8. ^ a b Garner, Bryan A., ed. (2004), Black's Law Dictionary, 8th ed., St. Paul, Minn.: Thomson West
9. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
11. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins