Wedlock
//ˈwɛd.lɒk// noun
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The state of being married. countable, uncountable
"If I were about to marry, I should try it; that is, if I were a student of girldom with a view to wedlock for in truth, I am a marrying man."
- 2 the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce) wordnet
- 3 A wife; a married woman. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"that lovely payre, / Enlincked fast in wedlockes loyall bond, / Bold Marinell with Florimell the fayre […]"
Example
More examples"Because he was unemployed, their wedlock failed."
Etymology
From Middle English wedlok, wedlocke (“wedlock, marriage, matrimony”), from Old English wedlāc (“marriage vow, pledge, plighted troth, wedlock”). By surface analysis, wed + -lock.
More for "wedlock"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.