wed

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To marry someone.

   She wed her first love in a small country church.

2. 2
   verb

   To perform the marriage ceremony for a couple.

   The priest wed the young couple at noon.

3. 3
   verb

   To commit yourself firmly to an idea or course of action, as if for life.

   I'm not wedded to this plan, so suggest an alternative if you like.

From Middle English wedden, weddien, from Old English weddian (“to pledge; wed”), from Proto-West Germanic *waddjōn, from Proto-Germanic *wadjōną (“to pledge”), from *wadją (“pledge”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wedʰ- (“to pledge”). Cognate with Scots wed, wod, wad (“to wed”), Saterland Frisian wädje (“to bet, wager”), West Frisian wedzje (“to bet, wager”), Low German and Dutch wedden (“to bet”), German wetten (“to bet”), Danish vædde (“to bet”), Swedish vädja (“to appeal”), Icelandic veðja (“to bet”); more distantly, to Sanskrit वधू (vadhū́, “bride”). Related also to gage, engage, a…

Topics