betrothed
engaged to be married
TRANSLATION
betrothed = verlobt sein betrothed = der/die Verlobte --- GOOGLE INDEX betrothed: approximately 2,400,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
The new drama will chronicle the rise to power of Mary, Queen of Scots, when she arrives in France as a 15-year-old, BETROTHED to Francis, a French prince.
(BBC News)
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She smiled and looked up at her BETROTHED with grateful eyes.
(from the novel Middlemarch by George Eliot)
(BBC News)
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She smiled and looked up at her BETROTHED with grateful eyes.
(from the novel Middlemarch by George Eliot)
Did you
know?
betrothed
adjective (past participle adjective from the verb "betroth")
- formally engaged to be married
noun
- the person to whom one is engaged to be married
(Oxford Dictionaries)
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Betrothed is an old-fashioned word that refers to formally agreeing to marry. Engaged is more commonly used these days. It is also used as a noun to describe the person to whom one is marrying. Fiancé (man) and fiancée (from the French) are the modern equivalents of the noun form of betrothed.
The past tense of betrothed uses "to become" or the informal "to get":
- They became betrothed over the weekend. They got betrothed on Saturday.
The future tense can take the form of become, will or get:
- They are becoming betrothed on Saturday. They will be betrothed soon. They are getting betrothed this weekend.
Betrothed is from the transitive verb "betroth," a Middle English construction combining be- (originally bi-), as in "thoroughly" and the Old English "treowoe," meaning truth or a pledge. From "treowoe" we also get "troth," an archaic/formal word for faith or loyalty. It is sometimes still seen in the expression "plight your troth," which means to make a solemn pledge of commitment, especially to marriage.
The use of plight in this phrase is interesting since the modern English definition is "a dangerous, difficult or otherwise unfortunate situation," which some people may argue is an apt description of marriage anyway. Jokes aside, the verb form of plight once meant "to pledge," but this usage is long obsolete.
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SYNONYMS
engaged, committed, pledged, taken (She’s already taken), spoken for (He’s already spoken for), ringed, going steady (They’re going steady)
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"He is betrothed to the company owner's duaghter."
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Thanks to Lothar for suggesting today's word!
adjective (past participle adjective from the verb "betroth")
- formally engaged to be married
noun
- the person to whom one is engaged to be married
(Oxford Dictionaries)
---
Betrothed is an old-fashioned word that refers to formally agreeing to marry. Engaged is more commonly used these days. It is also used as a noun to describe the person to whom one is marrying. Fiancé (man) and fiancée (from the French) are the modern equivalents of the noun form of betrothed.
The past tense of betrothed uses "to become" or the informal "to get":
- They became betrothed over the weekend. They got betrothed on Saturday.
The future tense can take the form of become, will or get:
- They are becoming betrothed on Saturday. They will be betrothed soon. They are getting betrothed this weekend.
Betrothed is from the transitive verb "betroth," a Middle English construction combining be- (originally bi-), as in "thoroughly" and the Old English "treowoe," meaning truth or a pledge. From "treowoe" we also get "troth," an archaic/formal word for faith or loyalty. It is sometimes still seen in the expression "plight your troth," which means to make a solemn pledge of commitment, especially to marriage.
The use of plight in this phrase is interesting since the modern English definition is "a dangerous, difficult or otherwise unfortunate situation," which some people may argue is an apt description of marriage anyway. Jokes aside, the verb form of plight once meant "to pledge," but this usage is long obsolete.
---
SYNONYMS
engaged, committed, pledged, taken (She’s already taken), spoken for (He’s already spoken for), ringed, going steady (They’re going steady)
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"He is betrothed to the company owner's duaghter."
---
Thanks to Lothar for suggesting today's word!
