Marry

How to spell marry

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce marry

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does marry mean?

1. verbTo join with another person in marriage, or to unite a couple in marriage as an official.
2. verbTo join or blend two things so they work well together.

Marry in a sentence

• They plan to marry next summer in a small country church.

• The recipe aims to marry sweet and savoury flavours on one plate.

• A licensed registrar will marry the couple at the town hall.

• The new design tries to marry comfort with low running costs.

Where does marry come from?

Language of origin: French

This word came into English in the 1300s from the Old French marier, meaning 'to take a husband or wife', which itself descended from the Latin verb maritare, 'to wed'. That Latin verb was built on maritus, meaning 'husband' or 'married', a word linked to the idea of a young woman of marriageable age. From the very beginning the English sense covered both the act of two people joining in marriage and the act of an official uniting a couple. Over time it also picked up a useful figurative sense, 'to join or combine two things harmoniously', as when flavours or ideas are said to be brought together. The double r reflects the short 'a' vowel in the original French and Latin forms, and it is worth noting that marry sounds identical to 'merry' and 'Mary' for many North American speakers, which makes the spelling worth fixing in memory.

How the word is built

• marri- (from Latin maritare, to wed)
• -y (verb ending in English)