| wedlock | 1. The ceremony, or the state, of marriage; matrimony. "That blissful yoke . . . That men clepeth [call] spousal, or wedlock." "For what is wedlock forced but a hell, An age of discord or continual strife?" (Shak) 2. A wife; a married woman. Synonym: See Marriage. Origin: AS. Wedlac a pledge, be trothal; wedd a pledge + lac a gift, an offering. See Wed, and cf. Lake, Knowledge. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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