affianced

[ uh-fahy-uh nst ]

/ əˈfaɪ ənst /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR affianced ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

betrothed; engaged.

RELATED WORDS

intended, promised, betrothed, plighted

Nearby words

Origin of affianced

First recorded in 1570–80; affiance + -ed²

affiance

[ uh-fahy-uh ns ]

/ əˈfaɪ əns /

verb (used with object), af·fi·anced, af·fi·anc·ing.

to pledge by promise of marriage; betroth.

noun Archaic.

a pledging of faith, as a marriage contract.

trust; confidence; reliance.

Origin of affiance

1300–50; Middle English < Middle French afiance, equivalent to afi(er) to pledge faith, declare on oath, betroth (< Medieval Latin affīdāre, equivalent to ad- ad- + *fīdāre, for Latin fīdere to trust; see confide) + -ance -ance

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for affianced

She knew his worldly views—she knew also the pride of her affianced, and, she felt that she alone could mediate between the two.
Ernest Maltravers, Complete|Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Eleanor is a girl with a thousand virtues, each of which she expects to find in counterpart in the man to whom she is affianced.
Simon the Jester|William J. Locke
I am the youngest son of a marquess, answered the youth, a barber by trade, and affianced to the daughter of the King of Castille.
Tales from the Lands of Nuts and Grapes|Charles Sellers and Others
Was she not affianced to a man who was notoriously a leader of what might to-day be called the "fast set" of the capital?
A Friend of Caesar|William Stearns Davis

The dwarf and his affianced resembled each other as two drops of water.
The International Monthly, Volume 3, No. 3, June, 1851|Various

British Dictionary definitions for affianced

affiance

/ (əˈfaɪəns) /

verb

(tr) to bind (a person or oneself) in a promise of marriage; betroth

noun

archaic a solemn pledge, esp a marriage contract

Word Origin for affiance

C14: via Old French from Medieval Latin affīdāre to trust (oneself) to, from fīdāre to trust, from fīdus faithful

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for affianced

affiance

1520s, "to promise," from Old French afiancier "to pledge, promise, give one's word," from afiance (n.) "confidence, trust," from afier "to trust," from Late Latin affidare, from ad- "to" (see ad-) + fidare "to trust," from fidus (see affidavit). From mid-16c. especially "to promise in marriage." Related: Affianced; affiancing.