English
wedlock
Wedlock comes from Old English wedlāc ‘marriage vow, pledge, plighted troth, wedlock’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *wedʰ- ‘to lead, conduct’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wedʰ-‘to lead, conduct’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wadją‘wager, stake, pledge’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wadi‘wager, stake, pledge’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150wedd‘pledge, agreement’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150wedlāc‘marriage vow, pledge, plighted troth, wedlock’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wedlok
- Englishearliest quotation 1596wedlock
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wedʰ-‘to lead, conduct’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wadją‘wager, stake, pledge’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wadi‘wager, stake, pledge’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150wedd‘pledge, agreement’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150wedlāc‘marriage vow, pledge, plighted troth, wedlock’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wedlok
- Englishearliest quotation 1596wedlock
Earliest quotation: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book V, Canto IV: “that lovely payre, / Enlincked fast in wedlockes loyall…”
Equivalent to wed + -lock
Proto-Indo-European *wedʰ- ‘to pledge’
…
Proto-Germanic *wadjōną ‘to pledge’
Proto-West Germanic *waddjōn ‘to wager, to pledge’
Old English weddian ‘to pledge’
Middle English wedden ‘to marry’
English wed
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *wedʰ- ‘to lead, conduct’
engagement, weed, bahu, 7 more
through Proto-Germanic *wadją ‘wager, stake, pledge’
Today it means
noun The state of being married.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wedʰ- / wedlock