verb
Etymology
Origin of betroth
1275–1325; Middle English betrouthe, variant of betreuthe ( be- be- + treuthe truth; troth )
Explanation
The verb betroth means to give to in marriage. In the really olden days, your parents might betroth you to someone you barely knew and you'd be expected to marry this virtual stranger. Since arranged marriages are becoming more rare, betroth has taken on the more general meaning of pledging to be married. If your boyfriend says, "Want to get hitched?" and you say, "Excellent idea!" then you are betrothed. Betroth is from the Middle English word betreuthe, which itself is from the roots bi-, meaning "thoroughly," and trowthe, meaning "truth" or "pledge."
Vocabulary lists containing betroth
Novel Study: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Acts 4–5
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Blood Water Paint
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"Duty" by Pamela Rafael Berkman
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Following her death from tuberculosis in 1847, he planned to betroth his first love, Sarah Elmira Royster Shelton, in the same city.
From Washington Post • Mar. 11, 2022
The most important decisions you make in this game are not military, but about to whom to betroth your children.
From New York Times • Mar. 30, 2012
Intoned the bride's father: "I betroth to Your Majesty my daughter, Farida."
From Time Magazine Archive
Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not use the fruit thereof.
From Select Masterpieces of Biblical Literature by Moulton, Richard Green
So Henry at last made up his mind at least to execute the treaty which was to betroth his surviving son to Katharine.
From The Wives of Henry the Eighth and the Parts They Played in History by Hume, Martin Andrew Sharp
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
