English Explanatory Dictionary

honeymoon

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The period of time immediately following a marriage.
  2. A trip taken by a newly married couple during this period.
  3. A period of goodwill at the beginning of a new term or relationship (e.g. towards a newly elected politician or in respect of a new business arrangement).
verb
  1. To have a honeymoon (a trip taken by a couple after wedding).

Pronunciation

/ˈhʌn.iˌmuːn/ en-us-honeymoon.ogg

Word forms

honeymoon honeymoons honeymooning honeymooned

Etymology

From earlier hony moone, originally denoting the period of time following a wedding, equivalent to honey + moon. The original reference was to affection waning like the moon, but later the sense became "the first month, or moon after marriage", which tends to be the sweetest. Compare Middle Low German suckermânt (“honeymoon”, literally “sugar-month”), German Low German Hönnigweken (“honeymoon”, literally “honey-weeks”). The German Honigmond (literally “honey-moon”) is a calque of French lune de miel, itself a calque of the English term.

Synonyms

wedding journey

Related words

babymoon familymoon

Derived words

Florida honeymoon honeyfund honeymoon fly honeymoonlight honeymoon palsy honeymoon whist honeymoony minimoon weddingmoon honeymoon period honeymooner honeymoon rhinitis
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