Where does “wedlock” come from?
Wedlock comes from Old English wedlāc, a compound of wed, meaning pledge or security, and lāc, meaning offering or gift.
wedlock (English): The state of being married; A wife; a married...
Definitions
- The state of being married; A wife; a married...
Ancestry of “wedlock”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | wedlok | — |
| 2 | Old English | wedlāc | marriage vow, pledge, plighted troth, wedlock |
| 3 | Old English | wedd | pledge, contract |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | wadi | wager, stake, pledge |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | wadją | wager, stake, pledge |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | wedʰ- | to bind, to secure; to pledge, to guarantee; to... |
Words derived from “wedlock”