Wed

How to spell wed

3 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce wed

What does wed mean?

1. verbTo marry someone, or to join two people in marriage.

Wed in a sentence

• The couple plan to wed in the village church next spring.

• A registrar has the authority to wed two people legally.

Where does wed come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word descends directly from the Old English verb weddian, which meant 'to pledge, to vow, or to engage oneself'. That verb grew out of the noun wedd, meaning 'a pledge or security', the very same idea that survives in the modern word 'wager'. In early use a 'wedding' was literally the giving of a pledge, and over time the sense narrowed to the specific pledge of marriage. The root has cousins across the Germanic languages, including German Wette meaning 'a bet', a reminder that promising and betting both rest on the idea of staking your word. Because it is a short, native Anglo-Saxon word, its spelling stayed simple and regular, with no silent letters or borrowed endings to trip up a writer.

How the word is built

• wed (from Old English weddian: to pledge or vow)