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definitions

wedding

[wed-ing]
See more synonyms for wedding on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the act or ceremony of marrying; marriage; nuptials.
  2. the anniversary of a marriage, or its celebration: They invited guests to their silver wedding.
  3. the act or an instance of blending or joining, especially opposite or contrasting elements: a perfect wedding of conservatism and liberalism.
  4. Business Slang. a merger.
adjective
  1. of or relating to a wedding: the wedding ceremony; a wedding dress.

Origin of wedding

before 900; Middle English; Old English weddung. See wed, -ing1
Can be confusedmarriage wedding (see synonym study at marriage)

Synonym study

1. See marriage.

wed

[wed]
verb (used with object), wed·ded or wed, wed·ding.
  1. to marry (another person) in a formal ceremony.
  2. to unite (a couple) in marriage or wedlock; marry.
  3. to bind by close or lasting ties; attach firmly: She wedded herself to the cause of the poor.
  4. to blend together or unite inseparably: a novel that weds style and content perfectly.
verb (used without object), wed·ded or wed, wed·ding.
  1. to contract marriage; marry.
  2. to become united or to blend: a building that will wed with the landscape.

Origin of wed

before 900; Middle English wedde, Old English weddian to pledge; cognate with German wetten to bet, Old Norse vethja to pledge
Related formsin·ter·wed, verb (used without object), in·ter·wed or in·ter·wed·ded, in·ter·wed·ding.re·wed, verb, re·wed·ded, re·wed·ding.un·wed, adjective

Synonyms for wed

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4. combine, fuse, merge.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for wedding

marriage, wedlock, nuptials, union, matrimony, hook, espousal, bridal, bells, spousal

Examples from the Web for wedding

Contemporary Examples of wedding

Historical Examples of wedding

British Dictionary definitions for wedding

wedding

noun
    1. the act of marrying or the celebration of a marriage
    2. (as modifier)wedding day
  2. the anniversary of a marriage (in such combinations as silver wedding or diamond wedding)
  3. the combination or blending of two separate elements

wed

verb weds, wedding, wedded or wed
  1. to take (a person of the opposite sex) as a husband or wife; marry
  2. (tr) to join (two people) in matrimony
  3. (tr) to unite closely

Word Origin for wed

Old English weddian; related to Old Frisian weddia, Old Norse vethja, Gothic wadi pledge
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 wedding
n.

Old English weddung "state of being wed" (see wed). Meaning "ceremony of marriage" is recorded from c.1300; the usual Old English word for the ceremony was bridelope, literally "bridal run," in reference to conducting the bride to her new home. Wedding cake is recorded from 1640s; as a style of architecture, attested from 1879.

wed

v.

Old English weddian "to pledge, covenant to do something, marry," from Proto-Germanic *wadjojanan (cf. Old Norse veðja "to bet, wager," Old Frisian weddia "to promise," Gothic ga-wadjon "to betroth"), from PIE root *wadh- "to pledge, to redeem a pledge" (cf. Latin vas, genitive vadis "bail, security," Lithuanian vaduoti "to redeem a pledge"). Sense remained "pledge" in other Germanic languages (cf. German Wette "bet, wager"); development to "marry" is unique to English. "Originally 'make a woman one's wife by giving a pledge or earnest money', then used of either party" [Buck]. Related: Wedded; wedding.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with wedding

wedding

see shotgun wedding.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.