Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “nonwedlock” come from?

nonwedlock (English) comes from English wedlock, from Middle English wedlok, from Old English wedlāc, from Old English wedd, from Proto-West Germanic wadi, from Proto-Germanic wadją, from Proto-Indo-European wedʰ- — to bind, to secure; to pledge, to guarantee; to...

nonwedlock (English): Not in wedlock

Definitions

  1. Not in wedlock

Ancestry of “nonwedlock”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishwedlockThe state of being married; A wife; a married...
2Middle Englishwedlok—
3Old Englishwedlācmarriage vow, pledge, plighted troth, wedlock
4Old Englishweddpledge, contract
5Proto-West Germanicwadiwager, stake, pledge
6Proto-Germanicwadjąwager, stake, pledge
7Proto-Indo-Europeanwedʰ-to bind, to secure; to pledge, to guarantee; to...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wedʰ- →