Nearby Words

wedlock

[wed-lok] Origin

wed·lock

[wed-lok]
noun
the state of marriage; matrimony.

Origin:
before 1100; Middle English wedlok, Old English wedlāc literally, a pledging, equivalent to wed pledge (see wed) + -lāc verbal noun suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Wedlock is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
Collins
World English Dictionary
wedlock (ˈwɛdlɒk)
 
n
1.  the state of being married
2.  born out of wedlock born when one's parents are not legally married
 
[Old English wedlāc, from wedd pledge + -lāc, suffix denoting activity, perhaps from lāc game, battle (related to Gothic laiks dance, Old Norse leikr)]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
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
EXPAND
of being married" is recorded from early 13c.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
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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