matrimonium Latin · revision 30939

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 250–184 BC, Plautus|origins=ine-pro *méh₂tēr}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [maː.trɪˈmoː.ni.ũː]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [ma.triˈmɔː.ni.um]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''mātrimōnium''' ''n'' (genitive mātrimōniī or mātrimōnī); second declension^(Wiktionary)

+ It is also spelled ''mātrumōnium''.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed [[af|la|māter|-mōnium|t1=mother]].^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)^(Etymonline) De Vaan traces ⟨māter⟩ to [[itc-pro|*mātēr]] and [[ine-pro|*méh₂-tr-|t=mother]].^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan gives Plautus as its first author.^(de Vaan 2008) In the ''Cistellaria'' a young man speaks of the woman who was to spend her life with him ''in mātrimōniō'', in wedlock.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It is the married state, wedlock: ''in mātrimōnium dūcere'' is to take a wife, ''in mātrimōniō habēre'' to have one, and ''in mātrimōnium dare'' to give in marriage, which Plautus sets against giving into concubinage.^(OLD 2012) It is also a particular marriage, as when Amphitruo's wife is asked to name a reason why he should not fine her of this marriage, and in a declamation the wife herself.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ Church Latin glosses it “marriage, matrimony”, with ''mātrimōnium mixtum'' a marriage of partners of different faiths.^(Stelten 1995) Medieval Latin also uses it for a dowry and a mother's inheritance.^(Niermeyer 1976) English ''matrimony'' (c. 1300) comes from it, through Old French and directly.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of wedlock.^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero of taking and having a wife.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 1300 – English [[m|en|matrimony]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|marriage|alt=Marriage]], [[m|en|wedlock]], [[m|en|matrimony]].^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # A particular marriage; a wife.^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A [[m|en|dowry]]; a mother's inheritance.^(Niermeyer 1976)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[mātrimōniālis]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[māter]]

+ * [[mātrōna]]

+ * [[patrimōnium]]

+ * [[en|matrimony]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Döderlein distinguishes [[coniugium]], the union of male and female in general, even among animals, from [[contubernium]], the union of slaves, ''mātrimōnium'', the lawful marriage of free citizens, and [[nūptiae]], only its beginning, the wedding.^(Döderlein 1874)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}