wedding
- the act or ceremony of marrying; marriage; nuptials.
- the anniversary of a marriage, or its celebration: They invited guests to their silver wedding.
- the act or an instance of blending or joining, especially opposite or contrasting elements: a perfect wedding of conservatism and liberalism.
- Business Slang. a merger.
- of or relating to a wedding: the wedding ceremony; a wedding dress.
Origin of wedding
Synonym study
wed
- to marry (another person) in a formal ceremony.
- to unite (a couple) in marriage or wedlock; marry.
- to bind by close or lasting ties; attach firmly: She wedded herself to the cause of the poor.
- to blend together or unite inseparably: a novel that weds style and content perfectly.
- to contract marriage; marry.
- to become united or to blend: a building that will wed with the landscape.
Origin of wed
Synonyms
See more synonyms for wed on Thesaurus.comExamples from the Web for wedding
Contemporary Examples
Dance instructors run a lucrative trade offering private lessons to couples before their wedding receptions, typically the tango.
Just a week after her divorce, she was invited to a wedding by her sister-in-law.
And thus I end up at the bottom of the stairs, about one month after my injury and two months after my wedding.
Sarah said that she loves, loves, loves the royal couple and had even gotten up before dawn to watch their 2011 wedding.
For inmates located outside the Los Angeles area, a wedding with Bensoussan can run up to $2,000 or $3,000.
Historical Examples
By the middle of June the wedding presents began to come in.
Life and Death of Harriett FreanMay Sinclair
There the wedding supper was to be served by caterers at small tables.
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton CampusJessie Graham Flower
I don't know which was nicer, Jessica, Nora's wedding or yours.
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton CampusJessie Graham Flower
One was that Christine asked her to be maid of honor at her wedding.
KMary Roberts Rinehart
Of course, unless father gives me one for a wedding present, it will be a cheap one.
KMary Roberts Rinehart
wedding
- the act of marrying or the celebration of a marriage
- (as modifier)wedding day
- the anniversary of a marriage (in such combinations as silver wedding or diamond wedding)
- the combination or blending of two separate elements
wed
- to take (a person of the opposite sex) as a husband or wife; marry
- (tr) to join (two people) in matrimony
- (tr) to unite closely
Word Origin
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.
Idioms and Phrases with wedding
wedding
see shotgun wedding.