mar⋅riage
[mar-ij] 
ɪdʒ
| 1. | the social institution under which a man and woman establish their decision to live as husband and wife by legal commitments, religious ceremonies, etc. |
| 2. | the state, condition, or relationship of being married; wedlock: a happy marriage. |
| 3. | the legal or religious ceremony that formalizes the decision of a man and woman to live as husband and wife, including the accompanying social festivities: to officiate at a marriage. |
| 4. | a relationship in which two people have pledged themselves to each other in the manner of a husband and wife, without legal sanction: trial marriage; homosexual marriage. |
| 5. | any close or intimate association or union: the marriage of words and music in a hit song. |
| 6. | a formal agreement between two companies or enterprises to combine operations, resources, etc., for mutual benefit; merger. |
| 7. | a blending or matching of different elements or components: The new lipstick is a beautiful marriage of fragrance and texture. |
| 8. | Cards. a meld of the king and queen of a suit, as in pinochle. Compare royal marriage. |
| 9. | a piece of antique furniture assembled from components of two or more authentic pieces. |
| 10. | Obsolete. the formal declaration or contract by which act a man and a woman join in wedlock. |
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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| mar·riage
(mār'ĭj) Pronunciation Key
n.
[Middle English mariage, from Old French, from marier, to marry; see marry1.] |
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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marriage
"When two people are under the influence of the most violent, most insane, most delusive, and most transient of passions, they are required to swear that they will remain in that excited, abnormal, and exhausting condition until death do them part." [G.B. Shaw]Marriage counselling first recorded 1945. Marriage bed, fig. of marital intercourse generally, is attested from 1590.
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| marriage | |
noun | |
| 1. | the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce); "a long and happy marriage"; "God bless this union" |
| 2. | two people who are married to each other; "his second marriage was happier than the first"; "a married couple without love" |
| 3. | the act of marrying; the nuptial ceremony; "their marriage was conducted in the chapel" |
| 4. | a close and intimate union; "the marriage of music and dance"; "a marriage of ideas" |
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Main Entry: mar·riage
Pronunciation: 'mar-ij
Function: noun
1 : the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a legal, consensual, and contractual relationship recognized and sanctioned by and dissolvable only by law —see also DIVORCE
2 : the ceremony containing certain legal formalities by which a marriage relationship is created
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Marriage
Mar"riage\, n. [OE. mariage, F. mariage. See Marry, v. t.]1. The act of marrying, or the state of being married; legal union of a man and a woman for life, as husband and wife; wedlock; matrimony. Marriage is honorable in all. --Heb. xiii. 4. 2. The marriage vow or contract. [Obs.] --Chaucer. 3. A feast made on the occasion of a marriage. The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king which made a marriage for his son. --Matt. xxii. 2. 4. Any intimate or close union. Marriage brokage. (a) The business of bringing about marriages. (b) The payment made or demanded for the procurement of a marriage. Marriage favors, knots of white ribbons, or bunches of white flowers, worn at weddings. Marriage settlement (Law), a settlement of property in view, and in consideration, of marriage. Syn: Matrimony; wedlock; wedding; nuptials. Usage: Marriage, Matrimony, Wedlock. Marriage is properly the act which unites the two parties, and matrimony the state into which they enter. Marriage is, however, often used for the state as well as the act. Wedlock is the old Anglo-Saxon term for matrimony.Cite This Source
Marriage
Mar"riage\, n. In b['e]zique, penuchle, and similar games at cards, the combination of a king and queen of the same suit. If of the trump suit, it is called a royal marriage.Cite This Source
Marriage
was instituted in Paradise when man was in innocence (Gen. 2:18-24). Here we have its original charter, which was confirmed by our Lord, as the basis on which all regulations are to be framed (Matt. 19:4, 5). It is evident that monogamy was the original law of marriage (Matt. 19:5; 1 Cor. 6:16). This law was violated in after times, when corrupt usages began to be introduced (Gen. 4:19; 6:2). We meet with the prevalence of polygamy and concubinage in the patriarchal age (Gen. 16:1-4; 22:21-24; 28:8, 9; 29:23-30, etc.). Polygamy was acknowledged in the Mosaic law and made the basis of legislation, and continued to be practised all down through the period of Jewish histroy to the Captivity, after which there is no instance of it on record. It seems to have been the practice from the beginning for fathers to select wives for their sons (Gen. 24:3; 38:6). Sometimes also proposals were initiated by the father of the maiden (Ex. 2:21). The brothers of the maiden were also sometimes consulted (Gen. 24:51; 34:11), but her own consent was not required. The young man was bound to give a price to the father of the maiden (31:15; 34:12; Ex. 22:16, 17; 1 Sam. 18:23, 25; Ruth 4:10; Hos. 3:2) On these patriarchal customs the Mosaic law made no change. In the pre-Mosaic times, when the proposals were accepted and the marriage price given, the bridegroom could come at once and take away his bride to his own house (Gen. 24:63-67). But in general the marriage was celebrated by a feast in the house of the bride's parents, to which all friends were invited (29:22, 27); and on the day of the marriage the bride, concealed under a thick veil, was conducted to her future husband's home. Our Lord corrected many false notions then existing on the subject of marriage (Matt. 22:23-30), and placed it as a divine institution on the highest grounds. The apostles state clearly and enforce the nuptial duties of husband and wife (Eph. 5:22-33; Col. 3:18, 19; 1 Pet. 3:1-7). Marriage is said to be "honourable" (Heb. 13:4), and the prohibition of it is noted as one of the marks of degenerate times (1 Tim. 4:3). The marriage relation is used to represent the union between God and his people (Isa. 54:5; Jer. 3:1-14; Hos. 2:9, 20). In the New Testament the same figure is employed in representing the love of Christ to his saints (Eph. 5:25-27). The Church of the redeemed is the "Bride, the Lamb's wife" (Rev. 19:7-9).
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