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MORGANATICALLY

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mor⋅ga⋅nat⋅ic

  [mawr-guh-nat-ik]
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–adjective
of or pertaining to a form of marriage in which a person of high rank, as a member of the nobility, marries someone of lower station with the stipulation that neither the low-ranking spouse nor their children, if any, will have any claim to the titles or entailed property of the high-ranking partner.
Origin:
1720–30; < NL morganāticus (adj.), for ML phrase (mātrimōnium) ad morganāticam (marriage) to the extent of morning-gift (morganātica repr. Gmc *morgangeba (fem.); cf. OE morgengiefu gift from husband to wife on day after wedding)

Related forms:
mor⋅ga⋅nat⋅i⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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mor·ga·nat·ic   (môr'gə-nāt'ĭk)   
adj.  Of or being a legal marriage between a person of royal or noble birth and a partner of lower rank, in which it is agreed that no titles or estates of the royal or noble partner are to be shared by the partner of inferior rank nor by any of the offspring of the marriage.

[New Latin morganāticus, from Medieval Latin (mātrimōnium ad) morganāticam, (marriage for the) morning-gift, of Germanic origin.]
mor'ga·nat'i·cal·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

morganatic 
1727, from Fr. morganatique, from M.L. matrimonium ad morganaticam "marriage of the morning," probably from O.H.G. *morgangeba (M.H.G. morgengabe) "morning gift," corresponding to O.E. morgengifu (see morn + gift). In an unequal marriage between a man of royal blood and a common woman, this was a gift traditionally given to the wife on the morning after consummation, representing the only share she and her children may claim in the husband's estate. Also known as left-handed marriage, because the groom gives the bride his left hand instead of his right, but sometimes this latter term is used of a class of marriage (esp. in Germany) where the spouse of inferior rank is not elevated, but the children inherit rights of succession.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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