civil marriage
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of civil marriage
First recorded in 1890–95
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.
Under South African law, a civil marriage must either be dissolved or converted to a traditional union before a man can take any more wives.
From BBC • Jan. 20, 2025
A civil marriage ceremony can be performed for an extra $28, according to the clerk-recorder’s office.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 28, 2024
Although today most Americans are likely to encounter a justice of the peace in the context of civil marriage ceremonies, this office was once the most important agent of law enforcement.
From Slate • Dec. 5, 2023
Uner the proposals, same-sex couples could have a service in which there would be "prayers of dedication, thanksgiving or for God's blessing on the couple" in church after a civil marriage.
From Reuters • Jan. 18, 2023
Lemarois.—A trusty aide-de-camp, who had witnessed Napoleon's civil marriage in March 1796, at 10 P.M.
From Napoleon's Letters to Josephine by Hall, Henry Foljambe
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.
