handfasting
Britishnoun
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an archaic word for betrothal
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(formerly) a kind of trial marriage marked by the formal joining of hands
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a contemporary pagan (esp Wiccan) marriage ceremony
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.
Stuart Beauchamp, 49, and his wife Anna Stevens, 44, took part in a handfasting ceremony, where their wrists were tied together to declare their commitment.
From BBC • Jun. 23, 2023
Kennealy practiced Celtic paganism, and in 1970, she and Morrison wed via a "handfasting ceremony" involving drops of blood.
From Salon • Oct. 23, 2021
In 1970, the rocker and journalist exchanged vows in what was called a "handfasting ceremony," which included drops of their own blood.
From Fox News • Aug. 5, 2021
As a believer in Celtic witchcraft, for Patricia, the handfasting ceremony with Morrison was spiritually binding.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 4, 2021
The betrothal, or handfasting, was, in Massinger's time, a ceremony that entailed very serious obligations upon the parties to it.
From Elizabethan Demonology by Spalding, Thomas Alfred
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.
