betroth

English

Etymology

From Middle English bitrouthen, bitreuthen, from treuthe (“truth”), from Old English trēowþe (“truth, pledge, troth”). Equivalent to be- +‎ troth.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /bəˈtɹəʊð/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /bəˈtɹoʊð/
• Rhymes: -əʊð

Verb

betroth (third-person singular simple present betroths, present participle betrothing, simple past betrothed, past participle betrothed or betrothen)

1. To promise to give in marriage.

   He betrothed his daughter to a distant relative.

   • 1885, W[illiam] S[chwenck] Gilbert, Arthur Sullivan, composer, The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu, London: Chappel & Co., , →OCLC:

     We loved each other at once, but she was betrothed to her guardian Ko-Ko, a cheap tailor.

2. To promise to take (as a future spouse); to plight one's troth to.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible,  (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, Deuteronomy 20:7:

     What man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her?

Derived terms

• betrothable
• betrothed

Translations

See also

• affiance
• fiancé
• fiancée
• plight
• troth
• marriage