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maridaje

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Etymology and origin of the Spanish word maridaje

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1400 Viaje de Juan de Mandevilla More words from the 14th century
Borrowed from
French mariage
Ultimate origin
Latin maritus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin marītus
French mari
Italian marito
Spanish marido
Latin marītō
French marier
French mariage
Spanish maridaje
The word's journey
From the same root
Latin marītālis ← marītus
French marié ← marier

Forms

maridaje m (plural maridajes)[1] The older spelling is maridage, used by Autoridades in 1734.[2][3]

Etymology

Corominas takes it to be borrowed from French mariage (“marriage”), adapted to Spanish, and DICCA-XV agrees.[4][5] The DLE derives it from the verb maridar “to marry; to join”, and Wiktionary as from Spanish maridar + -aje.[6][1] The source word is formed from French marier + -age;[1][5] DICCA traces it to Latin maritus (“husband”), from mās (“male”).[1][5] That verb is inherited from marītō, and the word is related to marido.[7][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The CDH's first record is the Escorial manuscript of the Viaje de Juan de Mandevilla (c. 1400), where serpents test whether children are bastards or born de leyal maridage “of lawful marriage”.[3] DEMel has the plural maridages in 1415, and DICCA-XV dates its own first record 1479.[8][5]

Semantic evolution

Corominas found the word in Lope de Vega and notes that by the time of Autoridades the sense “marriage” was already old-fashioned.[4] Already in 1585 Juan de Arfe used it for ornamental motifs that join together, and Quevedo used it for the union of Isabella and Ferdinand.[3] Covarrubias's supplement (c. 1611) records it as a jewellers' term for setting two different precious stones in one ring.[3] Autoridades (1734) gives the union and harmony of a married couple and, figuratively, the close union of things, such as the vine and the elm, with Lope's maridage de rubí y diamante.[2] Moliner notes that it can be pejorative, close to contubernio “unholy alliance”.[9] Today it is above all the gastronomic term for matching food with wine or other drinks.[1][10]

Timeline

  • c. 1400 – first record, as maridage, in the Viaje de Juan de Mandevilla.[3]
  • 1479 – DICCA-XV's first record.[5]
  • 1585 – Juan de Arfe applies it to ornament.[3]
  • c. 1611 – Covarrubias records the jewellers' sense.[3]
  • 1734 – Autoridades defines it.[2]
  • 1794 – first record in the Americas, in Lima.[11]
  • 1884 – the Academy's dictionary derives it from maridar.[12]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (dated) The union and harmony of a married couple.[6][9]
  2. A close or harmonious union or correspondence between things, such as two colours that go well together.[6][9][1]
  3. (gastronomy) The pairing of food with wine or another drink: Organizan una cata con maridaje de quesos.[1][10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 4, 500
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. maridaje
  4. ^ a b Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 3, 853
  5. ^ a b c d e Lleal, Coloma (dir.), DICCA-XV: Diccionario del castellano del siglo XV en la Corona de Aragón, Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona, Grup d'Estudis d'Història de la Llengua (GHCL), https://ghcl.ub.edu/diccaxv, p. s.v. maridaje
  6. ^ a b c Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. maridaje
  7. ^ Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. maridar
  8. ^ Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. maridaje
  9. ^ a b c Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. maridaje
  10. ^ a b Wikcionario (Spanish Wiktionary), es.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. maridaje
  11. ^ Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. maridaje
  12. ^ Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 680

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Maridaje.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/es/maridaje. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·