wed

CEFRB1

/ˈwɛd/

verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To marry someone.

  2. 02

    verb

    Extra detail

    To take a spouse.

Examples

  • Better be half hanged than ill wed.

  • He wed a woman who surpasses him in age.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
1

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To take as one's spouse.

  2. To perform the marriage ceremony for; to join in matrimony.

  3. To take each other as a spouse.

More examples

In context

  • I don't want to wed again.

  • She wed her first love.

  • The priest wed the couple.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

After a long engagement, the couple decided to blank in a small church ceremony.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

From Middle English wedden, weddien, from Old English weddian (“to pledge; wed”), from Proto-West Germanic *waddjōn, from Proto-Germanic *wadjōną (“to pledge”), from *wadją (“pledge”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wedʰ- (“to pledge”). Cognate with Scots wed, wod, wad (“to wed”), Saterland Frisian wädje (“to bet, wager”), West Frisian wedzje (“to bet, wager”), Low German and Dutch wedden (“to bet”), German wetten (“to bet”), Danish vædde (“to bet”), Swedish vädja (“to appeal”), Icelandic veðja (“to bet”); more distantly, to Sanskrit वधू (vadhū́, “bride”). Related also to gage, engage, and wage.