marriage

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈmær.ɪdʒ/, US /ˈmer.ɪdʒ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English mariage,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French mariage (“marriage, dowry”),^[4][2] from marier (“to marry”),^[2][5] the source of marry;^[2] Etymonline derives the noun from Vulgar Latin *marītāticum, from Latin marītātus, the past participle of marītāre “to wed, give in marriage”,^[4] from marītus “husband”.^[4] The Vulgar Latin word is also the source of Italian maritaggio and Spanish maridaje.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The condition of being husband and wife: 1297,^[6] about 1300,^[2][4] when it also meant the act of entering into wedlock.^[4][6]

Semantic evolution

The marriage vow, the wedding and its celebrations are marriage from the late 14th century,^[4][6] and figurative use, “an intimate union”, as of ideas or things, from the late 14th century^[4] or about 1420.^[6] In the late 15th and 16th centuries a marriage could also be a prospective husband or wife, a good or bad match.^[6] In pinochle and other card games a marriage is the king and queen of the same suit.^[7] Marriageable is from about 1555.^[2] Johnson (1755) noted that the word was often used in compounds.^[8] Modern dictionaries define marriage as the union of two people, and include same-sex marriage.^[3][9]

Timeline

• 1297 – the married state.^[6]
• c. 1300 – entering into wedlock.^[4][2]
• late 14th century – the wedding ceremony; a close union.^[4]
• 1473 – a particular union.^[6]
• c. 1555 – marriageable.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The legally or formally recognized union of two people as partners; wedlock.
2. A wedding ceremony.
3. A particular married relationship: a happy marriage.
4. A close union or combination: a marriage of words and music.
5. In some card games, the king and queen of the same suit.

Related words

• marry
• marital
• married

Usage notes

In dialect a marriage-bone was the merrythought or wishbone of a fowl.^[10]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
8. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
10. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)