wedlock
pronunciation
How to pronounce wedlock in British English:
UK [ˈwedlɒk]
How to pronounce wedlock in American English:
US [ˈwedlɑk]
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- Noun:
- the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce)
Word Origin
- wedlock (n.)
- Old English wedlac "pledge-giving, marriage vow," from wed + -lac, noun suffix meaning "actions or proceedings, practice," attested in about a dozen Old English compounds (feohtlac "warfare"), but this is the only surviving example. Suffix altered by folk etymology through association with lock (n.1). Meaning "condition of being married" is recorded from early 13c.
Example
- 1. Swedish women are still setting up homes and having children , just outside wedlock .
- 2. But having children out of wedlock is still unusual because the bureaucratic complications are horrendous .
- 3. Progressives hope and traditionalists fear that the supreme court will find a federal right to same-sex wedlock .
- 4. Under sharia law , sex out of wedlock and the drinking of alcohol are illegal for muslims .
- 5. But wedlock can 't be weighed ; a house and home can 't be distilled to data .