wed
verb/ˈwɛd/
Etymology
From Middle English wedden, weddien, from Old English weddian (“to pledge; wed”), from Proto-West Germanic *waddjōn, from Proto-Germanic *wadjōną (“to pledge”), from *wadją (“pledge”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wedʰ- (“to pledge”). Cognate with Scots wed, wod, wad (“to wed”), Saterland Frisian wädje (“to bet, wager”), West Frisian wedzje (“to bet, wager”), Low German and Dutch wedden (“to bet”), German wetten (“to bet”), Danish vædde (“to bet”), Swedish vädja (“to appeal”), Icelandic veðja (“to bet”); more distantly, to Sanskrit वधू (vadhū́, “bride”). Related also to gage, engage, and wage.
7 senses
To perform the marriage ceremony for; to join in matrimony.
- The priest wed the couple.
- And Adam, wedded to another Eve, Shall live with her.1667, John Milton, “Book VIII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
To take as one's spouse.
- She wed her first love.
- In 1989, he wed Playmate Kimberley Conrad, a marriage that ended in 2010. In 2013, he married his younger girlfriend, Crystal Harris, with whom he was still wed at the time of his death.2017 September 27, David Browne, “Hugh Hefner, 'Playboy' Founder, Dead at 91”, in Rolling Stone:
To take a spouse.
Reciprocal To take each other as a spouse.
- They will wed in the summer.
- On the rock above was an inscription in three words. Ayesha translated it. It was `Wedded in Death.' What was the life-story of these two, who, of a truth, were beautiful in their lives, and in their death were not divided?1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
Figuratively To join or commit to, more or less permanently, as if in marriage.
- I'm not wedded to this proposal; suggest an alternative.
- Affliction is enamoured of thy parts, and thou art wedded to calamity.c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]:
4 more examples
- Men are wedded to their lusts.1664, John Tillotson, “Sermon I. The Wisdom of Being Religious. Job XXVIII. 28.”, in The Works of the Most Reverend Dr. John Tillotson, Late Lord Archbishop of Canterbury: […], London: […] B. Aylmer, […]; [a]nd W. Rogers, […], published 1696, →OCLC:
- […] When each by turns was guide to each, And Fancy light from Fancy caught, And Thought leapt out to wed with Thought, Ere Thought could wed itself with Speech: […]1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XXIII”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 39:
- It will be a tragedy if further enterprises of this kind—for example, the one proposed between South Wales, Bristol and the South Coast via Salisbury—are now deferred until they, too, are realised too late to make an impact on a public that is too firmly wedded to the roads to be wooed back to the trains.1962 April, “Death from Natural Causes?”, in Modern Railways, page 218:
- […] the PPS paper proposed a political doctrine that wedded modernization theory to U.S. support for national security states […]2008, Bradley Simpson, Economists with Guns, page 72:
Figuratively To take to oneself and support; to espouse.
- They positively and concernedly wedded his cause.1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, (please specify |book=I to XVI), in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed at the [Sheldonian] Theater:
Northern England, Scotland To wager, stake, bet, place a bet, make a wager.
- I'd wed my head on that.
- Synonyms
- marry
- Derived terms
- soon-to-wed