Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The act of betrothing or the fact of being betrothed.
  • noun A mutual promise to marry; an engagement.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act of betrothing; betrothment.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The act of betrothing, or the fact of being betrothed; a mutual promise, engagement, or contract for a future marriage between the persons betrothed; betrothment; affiance.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The act of betrothing, or the fact of being betrothed; a mutual promise, engagement, or contract for a future marriage between the persons betrothed; betrothment; affiance.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a mutual promise to marry
  • noun the act of becoming betrothed or engaged

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

See betroth

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word betrothal.

Examples

  • And you have been loth to part with her, even in betrothal ....

    Love and Life Behind the Purdah 1901

  • "I tell you, Mr. Le Noir, that your manner of speaking of my betrothal is equally insulting to myself, Doctor Rocke and my dear father, who never would have plighted our hands had he considered our prospective marriage a mésalliance."

    The Hidden Hand 1888

  • So maybe Vanderbeek sees the Kovalchuk deal, and the long-term betrothal to the even more important

    SI.com 2010

  • Italian rabbis divided on the question whether the number of witnesses to a betrothal should be the talmudic pair or ten, reflecting a clear need for more to enhance supervision of the proceedings.

    Italy, Early Modern. 2009

  • The process that the Waynes chose, called betrothal, requires a man and woman to make a binding commitment to marry before beginning any romantic -- much less physical -- relationship.

    It Takes More Than Two 2008

  • The process that the Waynes chose, called betrothal, requires a man and woman to make a binding commitment to marry before beginning any romantic -- much less physical -- relationship.

    They Plight Their Troth -- and Mean It 2008

  • “Good!” said the smiling Torres; “it is what you might call a betrothal journey.”

    Eight Hundred Leagues on the Amazon 2003

  • To speak of breaking a betrothal is a serious matter!

    The Frozen Heart Cassidy, Laura 1995

  • There is a single feature of the situation in the spring of 1527 which might be taken as pointing to a belief on the King's part that the validity of the marriage would be confirmed: namely the betrothal of his daughter to

    England under the Tudors

  • And when I find myself once more on board, when the scene enacted on the hill above recurs to my mind, it seems to me that my betrothal is a joke, and my new family a set of puppets.

    The French Immortals Series — Complete Various

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.