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)

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• 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

Translations

See also

• wedding

Further reading

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