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.
[Obs.]
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.
[Obs.]
They positively and concernedly wedded his cause.
Clarendon.
© Webster 1913.
Wed (?), v. i.
To contact matrimony; to marry.
"When I shall
wed."
Shak.
© Webster 1913.