matrimony

English

Etymology

From Old French matremoine, from Latin mātrimōnium (“marriage, wedlock”), from māter (“mother”) + -mōnium (“obligation”). Also matri- +‎ -mony. Compare patrimony.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmat.ɹɪ.mə.ni/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmæt.ɹɪˌmoʊ.ni/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• Hyphenation: mat‧ri‧mo‧ny

Noun

matrimony (countable and uncountable, plural matrimonies)

1. (uncountable) Marriage; the state of being married.
   • 1549 March 7, Thomas Cranmer [et al.], compilers, The Booke of the Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacramentes, […], London: […] Edowardi Whitchurche […], →OCLC:

     If either of you know any impediment, why ye may not be lawfully joined together in matrimony, ye do now confess it.

   • 1920 April, F[rancis] Scott Fitzgerald, This Side of Paradise, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, book II (The Education of a Personage), page 255:

     […] you can play around with girls without being involved in meshes of sentiment, and you can do anything and be justified—and here am I with the brains to do everything, yet tied to the sinking ship of future matrimony.

2. (countable) The ceremony of marriage.
3. (uncountable) A particular solitaire card game using two decks of cards.

Synonyms

• (state of being married): marriage, wedlock
• (ceremony of marriage): wedding, nuptials

Derived terms

• matrimony vine

Related terms

• acrimony
• alimony
• ceremony
• harmony
• parsimony
• patrimony
• sanctimony
• testimony

 

Translations

marriage or the state of being married — see also marriage

Armenian: ամուսնություն (hy) (amusnutʻyun) Bulgarian: брак (bg) m (brak), съпружество n (sǎpružestvo) Chinese: Mandarin: 婚姻 (zh) (hūnyīn) Danish: ægteskab (da) n Esperanto: edzeco (eo) Finnish: avioliitto (fi) French: mariage (fr) m German: Ehe (de) f Greek: γάμος (el) m (gámos), κοινωνία γάμου f (koinonía gámou) Hungarian: házasság (hu), matrimónium Italian: matrimonio (it) m Latin: mātrimōnium (la) n, coniugium n Latvian: laulība f Persian: تأهل (fa) (ta'ahhol) Polish: związek małżeński (pl) m Portuguese: matrimónio (pt) (Portugal), matrimônio (pt) (Brazil) Russian: брак (ru) m (brak), супру́жество (ru) n (suprúžestvo), заму́жество (ru) n (zamúžestvo) (of women only) Sicilian: matrimoniu (scn) m Turkish: nikâh (tr)

marriage ceremony — see also wedding

Armenian: հարսանիք (hy) (harsanikʻ) Bulgarian: венчавка f (venčavka) Danish: vielse (da) c Ewe: srɔ̃ɖeɖe Finnish: vihkiminen (fi) German: Hochzeit (de) f, Heirat (de) f, Eheschließung (de) f, Trauung (de) f Greek: γαμήλια τελετή f (gamília teletí), γάμος (el) m (gámos) Hungarian: esküvő (hu) Italian: matrimonio (it) m, cerimonia di nozze, nozze (it) f pl Persian: عروسی (fa) ('arusi) Portuguese: casamento (pt) m Russian: сва́дьба (ru) f (svádʹba), бракосочета́ние (ru) n (brakosočetánije) Sicilian: matrimoniu (scn) m Spanish: boda (es) f Swedish: bröllop (sv) n Turkish: düğün (tr)

See also

• wedding

Further reading

• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “matrimony”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.