honeymoon

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A holiday taken by a couple just after they get married.

   We went to Greece for our honeymoon.

2. 2
   verb

   To spend a honeymoon somewhere.

   My parents honeymooned at Niagara Falls.

3. 3
   noun

   A calm, happy period at the start of a relationship or arrangement.

   Now that the honeymoon is over, the new government faces hard questions.

Simplified etymology

Honeymoon arose in the mid-16th century for the early period of marriage, whether or not the couple travelled. Its image combines the sweetness of honey with affection that changes or wanes like the moon, rather than simply naming a month-long holiday.

From earlier hony moone, originally denoting the period of time following a wedding, equivalent to honey + moon. The original reference was to affection waning like the moon, but later the sense became "the first month, or moon after marriage", which tends to be the sweetest. Compare Middle Low German suckermânt (“honeymoon”, literally “sugar-month”), German Low German Hönnigweken (“honeymoon”, literally “honey-weeks”). The German Honigmond (literally “honey-moon”) is a calque of French lune de miel, itself a calque of the English term.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary