matrimony

matrimony
marriage, matrimony, wedlock, wedding, nuptial, espousal are comparable though not always synonymous because they all refer directly or indirectly to acts by which a man and woman become husband and. wife or to the state of being husband and wife.
Marriage is the common term; it may apply to the rite or ceremony
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many were present at their marriage

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a civil marriage

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but it more often applies to the legal or spiritual relation which is entered upon
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joined in marriage

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annul a marriage

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or to the state of being married
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theirs was a long and happy marriage

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or to the institution as an abstraction
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nor does he dishonor marriage that praises virginity— Donne

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In extended use the term is applicable to any similarly close and intimate union
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let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments— Shak.

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the same sort of poetic effect as the Romantics obtained by the marriage of fertile words—Day Lewis

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Matrimony is in most contexts interchangeable with marriage, but it is the more appropriate term in religious and sometimes in legal use; in many Christian churches it designates one of the seven sacraments
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matrimony is the sacrament which unites in holy wedlock a man and a woman, between whom there is no impediment that would render marriage null and void— Currier

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The term therefore may be chosen in place of marriage when a religious ceremony or sanction is implied
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joined in bonds of holy matrimony

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In general the term is more often applied to the relationship which exists between husband and wife than to the ceremony or the state of marriage
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so prays the Church, to consecrate a vow "The which would endless matrimony make"—Wordsworth

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Wedlock, chiefly legal or archaic, applies especially to marriage as a legally or ecclesiastically sanctioned relationship or state; thus, children born out of wedlock are children of parents who are not legally married
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grave authors say, and witty poets sing, that honest wedlock is a glorious thing— Pope

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Wedding is the common term for the ceremony that marks a marriage and the festivities that accompany it
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a thousand invitations to the wedding were sent out

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Nuptial, usually as the plural nuptials, is a more rhetorical term than wedding; it also carries a stronger implication of an elaborate ceremony
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I don't object to married priests, but I do strongly object to their nuptials. . . . When a priest . . . indulges in an immense artistic wedding, I feel there is something undignified and almost unpleasant about it— Mackenzie

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Espousal, often as the plural espousals, differs little from nuptial except in its extended application. In the latter use it implies a spiritual union, especially one that is dependent upon a vow or pledge
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let every act of worship be like our espousals, Lord, to thee— John Wesley

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New Dictionary of Synonyms. 2014.

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  • Matrimony — Mat ri*mo*ny, n. [OE. matrimoine, through Old French, fr. L. matrimonium, fr. mater mother. See {Mother}.] 1. The union of man and woman as husband and wife; the nuptial state; marriage; wedlock. [1913 Webster] If either of you know any… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • matrimony — I noun alliance, cohabitation, conjugality, connubiality, consortium, espousal, espousement, joining, marriage, marriage tie, married life, married state, married status, match, mating, matrimonium, nuptial bond, nuptial state, nuptial tie,… …   Law dictionary

  • matrimony — c.1300, from O.Fr. matremoine matrimony, marriage and directly from L. matrimonium wedlock, marriage, from matrem (nom. mater) mother (see MOTHER (Cf. mother) (n.1)) + monium, suffix signifying action, state, condition …   Etymology dictionary

  • matrimony — *marriage, wedlock, wedding, nuptial, espousal …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • matrimony — [n] being joined in marriage alliance, bells*, conjugality, connubiality, marital rites, marriage, match, nuptials, shotgun wedding*, union, wedding, wedding bells*, wedding ceremony, wedlock; concept 297 Ant. divorce …   New thesaurus

  • matrimony — ► NOUN ▪ the state or ceremony of being married. DERIVATIVES matrimonial adjective. ORIGIN Latin matrimonium, from mater mother …   English terms dictionary

  • matrimony — [ma′trə mō΄nē] n. pl. matrimonies [ME matrimonye < OFr matrimoine < L matrimonium < mater (gen. matris), MOTHER1] 1. the act, rite, or sacrament of marriage 2. the state of being husband and wife 3. married life …   English World dictionary

  • matrimony — Synonyms and related words: a world without end bargain, alliance, baptism, bed, bond of matrimony, bridebed, cohabitation, confirmation, conjugal bond, conjugal knot, coverture, extreme unction, holy matrimony, holy orders, holy wedlock,… …   Moby Thesaurus

  • matrimony — [[t]mæ̱trɪməni, AM moʊni[/t]] N UNCOUNT Matrimony is marriage. [FORMAL] ...the bonds of matrimony. ...holy matrimony …   English dictionary

  • matrimony — n. the state of matrimony * * * [ mætrɪmənɪ] the state of matrimony …   Combinatory dictionary

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