I. ˈwed noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English wedd pledge, agreement, security; akin to Old High German wetti pledge, Old Norse veth, Gothic wadi, Latin vad-,vas bail, security
1. dialect Britain : a person or thing given or deposited as a pledge
2. dialect Britain : stake , wager
II. verb
( wedded also wed ; wedded also wed ; wedding ; weds )
Etymology: Middle English wedden to engage, pledge, marry, from Old English weddian; akin to Middle High German wetten to pledge, Old Norse vethja to wager, Gothic gawadjon to espouse, marry, Old English wedd pledge
transitive verb
1. : to take for wife or husband by a formal ceremony : marry
bring me to your mother's house and there I will wed you — Padraic Colum
with this ring I thee wed — Book of Com. Prayer
2. : to join or bind in marriage
he was wedded on July 12 — Francis Hackett
the book gives the name of the minister who wed them
3. dialect Britain : engage , pledge , wager
4.
a. : to unite or join firmly as if by the affections or bond of marriage
has wed himself to the traditions of his people
soon she too was … wedded to the place — S.T.Williamson
was wed to misfortune at birth
b. : to place in close or intimate association
the far distant day when coal was wedded to iron — G.M.Trevelyan
has invested millions of dollars to wed farm and factory in continuous cycles of production — Current Biography
the English pantomime … weds music hall and the fairy tale — Henry Hewes
5. archaic : to lend support to (as a cause) : espouse
intransitive verb
: to enter into matrimony
she wed while still very young