wed
wed Lexical Profile
wed Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To take as a spouse or enter into marriage with; to get married.
"The couple plans to wed in a quiet ceremony by the coast next spring."
To join two people in marriage as an officiating minister or official.
"The local judge agreed to wed the pair at the historic courthouse."
To combine or unite two desirable qualities, ideas, or elements into a harmonious whole; to be firmly devoted or attached to a concept (usually in the passive as "wedded to").
"The architect sought to wed modern sustainability with classical proportions."
Word Nuance & Usage
Both "wed" and "wedded" are acceptable past tense and past participle forms, though "wed" is commonly favored in journalistic headlines while "wedded" is required in figurative senses (such as being "wedded to an idea").
• Rhymes for wed
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English weddian, meaning "to pledge" or "to covenant to do something," derived from the noun wed ("pledge, security"), which shares a Proto-Germanic root with the word "wager."