MARRIAGE

noun Etymology: Middle English mariage, from Anglo-French, from marier to marry Date: 14th century 1. a. the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law, the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional ~ , the mutual relation of married persons ; wedlock , the institution whereby individuals are joined in a ~, an act of marrying or the rite by which the married status is effected, an intimate or close union