Category:Wed

Wed (wêd), n. Etym: [as. wedd; akin to ofries. wed, od. wedde, ohg, Wetti, g. wette a wager, icel. veedh a pledge, sw. vad a wager, an Appeal, goth. wadi a pledge, lith. vaduti to redeem (a pledge), ll. Vadium, l. vas, vadis, bail, security, vadimonium security, and gr. Athlete, gage a pledge, wage.]

Defn: a pledge; a pawn. [obs.] Gower. Piers plowman. Let him be ware, his neck lieth to wed [i. e., for a security]. Chaucer.

Wed Wed, v. t. [imp. Wedded; p. p. Wedded or wed; p. pr. & vb. n. Wedding.] Etym: [oe. wedden, as. weddian to covenant, promise, to Wed, marry; akin to ofries. weddia to promise, d. wedden to wager, to Bet, g. wetten, icel. veedhja, dan. vedde, sw. vädja to appeal, goth. Gawadjon to betroth. See wed, n.]

1. To take for husband or for wife by a formal ceremony; to marry; to Espouse. With this ring i thee wed. Bk. of com. Prayer. I saw thee first, and wedded thee. Milton.

2. To join in marriage; to give in wedlock. And adam, wedded to another eve, shall live with her. Milton.

3. Fig.: To unite as if by the affections or the bond of marriage; to Attach firmly or indissolubly. Thou art wedded to calamity. Shak. Men are wedded to their lusts. Tillotson. [flowers] are wedded thus, like beauty to old age. Cowper.

4. To take to one's self and support; to espouse. [obs.] They positively and concernedly wedded his cause. Clarendon.

Wed Wed, v. i.

Defn: to contact matrimony; to marry. "when i shall wed." Shak.