marry

marry¹ wed

Pronunciation

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

Etymology

The verb is inherited from Middle English marien, borrowed from Old French marier (“to marry, give in marriage”),^[2][3][4] from Latin marītāre (“to wed, give in marriage”), from marītus (“married; husband”),^[2][3][5] of uncertain origin.^[2][4] It is perhaps “provided with a young woman”, from Proto-Indo-European *mari- (“young wife, young woman”), also the source of Welsh merch “daughter”,^[2][3] and akin to Sanskrit márya- “young man, suitor”.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of parents or guardians, to give in marriage, and in the passive, to be joined in marriage: 1297.^[6][2]

Semantic evolution

To take someone as husband or wife is from the early 14th century, and to become husband and wife from the late 14th.^[2] Of a priest who performs the rite it is from 1530.^[6] Marry money, to get wealth by marrying, is from 1858.^[6] The figurative sense, to join closely or combine, came later, and in sailing it means to join two ropes by interweaving their strands.^[7][8] Marry in haste and repent at leisure is from the late 16th century.^[9]

Timeline

• 1297 – to give in marriage; to be married.^[6]
• early 14th century – to take as a spouse.^[2]
• 1530 – of the priest.^[6]
• 1858 – marry money.^[6]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To take someone as one's husband or wife; to wed.
2. To join two people in marriage, as a priest or official does.
3. To give a son or daughter in marriage.
4. To combine two things closely or well.

marry² interjection

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈmær.i/^[1]

Etymology

The exclamation is Middle English Marie, an oath by the name of the Virgin Mary.^[3][10][4] Once that meaning was forgotten, the spelling changed, as in marigold.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

An exclamation of surprise or indignation, or a word of emphasis, often in answer to a question: about 1350.^[6][2]

Semantic evolution

It was a common oath in the Middle Ages and after, meaning “indeed, forsooth”.^[2] Marry come up, expressing indignant or amused surprise, arose in the 16th century from oaths by Mary Gipsy (the Egyptian), whose added gip and gup were also calls to horses.^[4][5] It is now archaic and dialectal.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1350 – an oath or exclamation.^[6]
• 16th century – marry come up.^[4]

Modern meaning

Interjection

1. (archaic) Indeed; an exclamation of surprise, anger or emphasis.

Related words

• marriage
• marital
• married

References

1. ^ a b 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 i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
9. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster