affiance
/ə'faiəns/
Definition
- Verb:
- To pledge in marriage; to betroth: The act of formally promising or engaging someone to be married. This is an archaic or formal term, most often used in the passive voice.
Usage
- The verb "affiance" is transitive and typically used in formal, literary, or historical contexts. It describes the action of pledging oneself or another in marriage.
- Common construction: .
Examples
- Verb:
- The young couple were affianced by their families last spring.
- She was affianced to a nobleman from a distant land.
Advanced Usage
- "to plight one's troth": This is a near-synonymous archaic phrase meaning to pledge one's faith in a marriage contract.
- They plighted their troth, much like being affianced, under the old oak tree.
Variants and Related Words
- Affianced (adj): The state of being formally engaged to be married.
- Her affianced husband was a man of great honor.
- Betroth (v): A more common synonym meaning to formally engage someone to marry.
- Engagement (n): The period or state of being engaged to be married.
Synonyms
- Betroth: To engage to marry.
- Pledge: To promise solemnly (in the context of marriage).
- Promise in marriage: To give one's word to marry.
Antonyms
- Break off an engagement: To end a promise of marriage.
- Divorce: To legally dissolve a marriage.
Related Idioms/Phrases
- Tie the knot: (Informal idiom) To get married. This is the result of the action begun by being affianced.
- After being affianced for a year, they finally decided to tie the knot.
Verb
-
give to in marriage
