English Explanatory Dictionary

wedlock

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The state of being married.
  2. A wife; a married woman.

Pronunciation

/ˈwɛd.lɒk/ /ˈwɛd.lɑk/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Wodencafe-wedlock.wav

Word forms

wedlock wedlocks

Etymology

From Middle English wedlok, wedlocke (“wedlock, marriage, matrimony”), from Old English wedlāc (“marriage vow, pledge, plighted troth, wedlock”). By surface analysis, wed + -lock.

Synonyms

matrimony marriage

Related words

bridelock

Derived words

bedlock break wedlock out of wedlock
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