Wed

Wed (w&ecr;d), n. [AS. wedd; akin to OFries. wed, OD. wedde, OHG, wetti, G. wette a wager, Icel. ve&edh; a pledge, Sw. vad a wager, an appeal, Goth. wadi a pledge, Lith. vadůti to redeem (a pledge), LL. vadium, L. vas, vadis, bail, security, vadimonium security, and Gr. , a prize. Cf. Athlete, Gage a pledge, Wage.]

A pledge; a pawn.

Gower. Piers Plowman.

Let him be ware, his neck lieth to wed [i. e., for a security]. Chaucer.

© Webster 1913.

Wed, v. t. [imp. Wedded; p. p. Wedded or Wed; p. pr. & vb. n. Wedding.] [OE. wedden, AS. weddian to covenant, promise, to wed, marry; akin to OFries. weddia to promise, D. wedden to wager, to bet, G. wetten, Icel. ve&edh;ja, Dan. vedde, Sw. vadja to appeal, Goth. gawadj&omac;n to betroth. See Wed, n.]

1.

To take for husband or for wife by a formal ceremony; to marry; to espouse.

With this ring I thee wed. Bk. of Com. Prayer.

I saw thee first, and wedded thee. Milton.

2.

To join in marriage; to give in wedlock.

And Adam, wedded to another Eve, Shall live with her. Milton.

3.

Fig.: To unite as if by the affections or the bond of marriage; to attach firmly or indissolubly.

Thou art wedded to calamity. Shak.

Men are wedded to their lusts. Tillotson.

[Flowers] are wedded thus, like beauty to old age. Cowper.

4.

To take to one's self and support; to espouse.

They positively and concernedly wedded his cause. Clarendon.

© Webster 1913.

Wed (?), v. i.

To contact matrimony; to marry.

Shak.

© Webster 1913.