wedlock

[ wed-lok ]

noun

1. the state of marriage; matrimony.

wedlock

/ ˈwɛdlɒk /

noun

1. the state of being married
2. born out of wedlock
   born out of wedlock born when one's parents are not legally married

Word History and Origins

Origin of wedlock¹

before 1100; Middle English wedlok, Old English wedlāc literally, a pledging, equivalent to wed pledge ( wed ) + -lāc verbal noun suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of wedlock¹

Old English wedlāc, from wedd pledge + -lāc, suffix denoting activity, perhaps from lāc game, battle (related to Gothic laiks dance, Old Norse leikr )

Idioms and Phrases

see out of wedlock .

Example Sentences

This recognized family rights when paternity is established, whether a child was born in or out of wedlock.

From The Daily Beast

The results are shocking: 96 percent of babies born to African American high school dropouts are born out of wedlock.

From The Daily Beast

Mother and baby homes were where young women who had conceived out of wedlock were sent to have their babies.

From The Daily Beast

Accepting the conception of a child out of love—and out of wedlock.

From The Daily Beast

And she was one pro-life person who repeatedly opened her home to teenage women who had become pregnant out of wedlock.

From The Daily Beast

It seems to form a bond of friendship which they regard as sacred as the vows of wedlock.

From Project Gutenberg

Honorine de Bauvan lost her child born out of wedlock, and she always mourned it.

From Project Gutenberg

Take you this man to husband, you who with such calmness sought to drive others into unwilling wedlock.

From Project Gutenberg

When the discovery was made, the boy was born—and born out of lawful wedlock.

From Project Gutenberg

Women, too, whether on the street or in the holy bond of wedlock, were prone to sell their flesh.

From Project Gutenberg