Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “matrimony” come from?

Matrimony comes from Old French matremoine, from Latin matrimonium, literally "the condition of being a mother," derived from Latin mater and Proto-Indo-European méh₂tēr, both meaning "mother."

matrimony (English): Marriage; the state of being married; The...

Definitions

  1. Marriage; the state of being married; The...

Ancestry of “matrimony”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchmatremoine—
2Latinmātrimōnium—
3Latin-moniumForms collective nouns and nouns designating...
4Proto-Indo-European-monyom—
5Proto-Indo-European-mōCreates agent nouns from verbs

Words derived from “matrimony”

  • matrimania
  • matrimonya
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -mō →