marry

English

Etymology 1

Middle English marien, from Anglo-Norman marier, from Latin marītāre (“to wed”), from marītus (“husband, suitor”), from Proto-Indo-European *meryo (“young man”), same source as Sanskrit मर्य (marya, “suitor, young man”). Compare its feminine derivatives - Welsh morwyn (“girl”), merch (“daughter”), Crimean Gothic marzus (“wedding”), Ancient Greek μεῖραξ (meirax, “boy; girl”), Lithuanian martì (“bride”), Avestan  (mairya, “yeoman”).[1])

Pronunciation

Verb

marry (third-person singular simple present marries, present participle marrying, simple past and past participle married)

  1. (intransitive) To enter into the conjugal or connubial state; to take a husband or a wife. [from 14th c.]
    Neither of her daughters showed any desire to marry.
  2. (transitive, in passive) To be joined to (someone) as spouse according to law or custom. [from 14th c.]
    She was not happily married.
    His daughter was married some five years ago to a tailor's apprentice.
  3. (transitive) To dispose of in wedlock; to give away as wife or husband. [from 14th c.]
    • 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Matthew XXIII:
      The kyngdome of heven is lyke unto a certayne kinge, which maryed his sonne [...].
  4. (transitive) To take for husband or wife. [from 15th c.]
    In some cultures, it is acceptable for an uncle to marry his niece.
  5. (transitive) Figuratively, to unite in the closest and most endearing relation. [from 15th c.]
    The attempt to marry medieval plainsong with speed metal produced interesting results.
  6. (transitive) To unite in wedlock or matrimony; to perform the ceremony of joining spouses, ostensibly for life; to constitute a marital union according to the laws or customs of the place. [from 16th c.]
    A justice of the peace will marry Jones and Smith.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
to take a husband or wife
to be joined in marriage
to unite in wedlock
to give away as wife or husband
to take for husband or wife
figuratively: to combine
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Translations to be checked

Etymology 2

From Middle English Marie,[2] referring to Mary, the Virgin Mary.[3] Mid-14th century.

Pronunciation

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Particularly: “interjection”

Interjection

marry!

  1. (obsolete) indeed!, in truth!; a term of asseveration.
    • William Shakespeare, King Henry IV, Part ii, Act 1, Scene 2,
      I have chequed him for it, and the young lion repents; marry, not in ashes and sackcloth, but in new silk and old sack.

References

  1. ^ J.P. Mallory and D.Q. Adams, Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture, s.v. "woman" (London: Dearborn Fitzroy, 1997), 656.
  2. ^ “marry” in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Online.
  3. ^ “marry” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary (2001).

See also

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Last modified on 21 May 2013, at 18:22