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Wedlock

 - 4 dictionary results

wed⋅lock

  [wed-lok]
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–noun
the state of marriage; matrimony.
Origin:
bef. 1100; ME wedlok, OE wedlāc lit., a pledging, equiv. to wed pledge (see wed ) + -lāc verbal n. suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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wed·lock   (wěd'lŏk')   
n.  The state of being married; matrimony.

[Middle English wedlocke, from Old English wedlāc : wedd, pledge + -lāc, n. suff. expressing activity.]
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

wedlock 
O.E. wedlac "pledge-giving, marriage vow," from wed + -lac, noun suffix meaning "actions or proceedings, practice," attested in about a dozen O.E. compounds (cf. feohtlac "warfare"), but this is the only surviving example. Suffix altered by folk etymology through association with lock. Meaning "condition of being married" is recorded from c.1225.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

wedlock

see out of wedlock.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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