Why is marriage called that? Why is a wedding called a marriage?! Origin of the word "marriage"

Words that denote events, the most long-awaited for some, appeared in our speech so long ago that we cannot even imagine how they arose and what meaning was originally contained in them.

But if you parse the words into syllables, find out the history of each part of the word, then it becomes clear why a wedding is called a wedding, a marriage is a marriage, etc.

We have already written about what words the word was formed from "bride": unknown, unknown, who knows who, who knows where... A young man brings into his family a girl whom no one knows - unknown. Leads from nowhere.

With the word "groom" also understandable. Brings a woman, that means the GROOM.

And finally, “god knows who” and “bringing wives” perform a ritual, meaning that they will be together - they get married, become spouses from “god knows who” and “Groom” - they have a wedding.

There are several versions of the origin of the word "wedding". According to the first version, “wedding” comes from the name of the ancient Roman goddess Svada. The Roman goddess Sada was the patroness of fun and celebrations. Swada - fun - vyaselle - wedding.

According to another version, the word “wedding” comes from the verb “to bring together,” “to connect.”

If you believe the third version, then “wedding” comes from the word “saint”. After all, the Slavs considered marriage a sacred union, that is, holy.

Another version says that the word “wedding” is based on the word “matchmaker”. A matchmaker is a witness to a conspiracy between the families of the bride and groom.

A wedding is a ritual that results in marriage.

Word "marriage", which denotes the union of two people, has nothing to do with the word “marriage” - a flaw, a flaw. The origins of these words are different.

The word “marriage,” as a family union, comes from the verb “to take.” And the suffix -k turns the verb “to take” into a noun. Take + -k = marriage. Get married. And getting married, therefore, means getting married. In Ukrainian, for example, the word “got married” would be “gotcha.”

And the word “take” from our ancestors meant “kidnap”, “steal.” But in the old days this is exactly what they did with brides: by the braid, in a sack and on a horse. This is how they took brides, that is, they entered into marriage.

Once upon a time, the word “marriage” meant both a wedding and a feast. But today we call marriage a conjugal union - matrimony.

Dahl's dictionary explains that the word "matrimony" comes from the word “to mate.” And a spouse is a conjugate, coupled by marriage. The dictionary also explains that the word “marriage” comes from “harness”, “pair”, “yoke”.

Yoke... Not the best definition for marriage. However, the respected Mr. Dahl put precisely this word next to the word “marriage.”

By the way, another “ancestor” of the word “marriage” is the word “spouse”. A partner is a couple harnessed together.

And this is what happens: they brought them together, wooed them (wedding) - they got together (marriage) - and went in one team (marriage).

Modern wedding bears little resemblance to the rituals of the past, which secured the unification of two people into one whole - a family. But the essence remains the same - this is an event that becomes the beginning of the life of a new union, family, helps the bride and groom understand this and notifies others.

A wedding makes the couple’s relationship legitimate, that is, legalized and recognized in the eyes of society. In former times, it meant the entry of a new person - a bride into her husband's clan, but now it means the creation of a family by two people. At the same time, their parents and other relatives become relatives both to the son-in-law/daughter-in-law and to each other.

There are several theories regarding the origin of the word "wedding":

1. This is a derivative of the name of the ancient Roman goddess of persuasion, the patroness of festivals and fun - Svada.
2. It is formed from the verb “to reduce” in the sense of connecting, uniting into one and symbolized the formation of a family from two separate people who were previously strangers to each other.
3. It is based on the word “holy,” which emphasizes the sacredness and significance of the union.
4. The word comes from the word “matchmaker” and indicates the important role of a person who acts as an intermediary between the families of the bride and groom, a witness to the agreement between them.
5. It consists of several words that were significant for the ancient Slavs - “Sva” (sky), “Bo” (gods) and “De” (deed) and denotes the heavenly (important, beyond the control of man) act of the gods.

What is the origin of the word "marriage"?

Having found out what is a wedding, what our ancestors put into this word and what our contemporaries put into it, let us turn to the concept of marriage. If a wedding means a certain ritual, actions that symbolize the creation of a legal union, then marriage is living together, next after the celebrations have died down. Although initially it also meant a wedding feast.

According to the official version, the word “marriage” was formed during the use of the Old Church Slavonic language and comes from the verb “to take” by adding the suffix -k to the root of this word. The validity of this version is evidenced by the stable expression “get married”, as well as the Ukrainian word “betrothed” - got married.

This symbolizes the wife’s entry into a new family - the husband’s family and the fact that she is taken (taken away) from her parents. Our ancestors also used the word “take” to mean “steal” or “kidnap.” And in some historical periods, this is exactly what they did to girls - they forcibly took their future husband into the house.

There is also a humorous version based on the use of the word “marriage” both in the meaning of marriage and in the meaning of a flaw or lack. Many have heard the expression “a good deed cannot be called a marriage” in this regard. According to this version, in ancient times, girls ready for marriage were called Vestas, that is, those who knew (know) all the wisdom of housekeeping and caring for children, prudent and wise. And if a marital union was concluded by a girl who was not endowed with these qualities, then she was called the BRIDE, and her relationship with her husband was called marriage.

In fact, the word “marriage” in the meaning of flaw is borrowed from the German language and comes from the word brack (flaw, defect) and that, in turn, from brechen (to break, break). So these words are homonyms - they are the same in spelling and sound, but have different meanings. There are also theories about the origin of the word “marriage” from a similar-sounding word in Arabic, which means twinning.

Origin of the word "marriage"

Having found out, one cannot help but remember about matrimony, which means married life. According to Dahl's dictionary, it is derived from the word “to conjugate”, i.e. to unite, combine. Vladimir Dal calls “harness”, “yoke” and “pair” words that are similar in origin and meaning. The word "yoke" does not sound very pleasant in relation to married life; it is familiar to modern people in the meaning of an unpleasant, heavy burden. But it’s joint family life, in essence, is the long-term work of two people to improve relationships and everyday life.

Reveals the nature of marriage and another word close to it - “marriage”. This is a pair of horses or oxen yoked together to cultivate a field. Thus, marriage was understood by the Slavs as a difficult but necessary joint work of two people. Symbolically, they go through life in the same harness, plow the field (solve joint problems, improve their lives, raise children).

Surely everyone has thought at least once about why marriage was called marriage. At first glance, this word is in no way associated with family relationships. Therefore, it is worth digging deeper and understanding this issue.

Official version

Why is marriage called marriage? According to the official version, this word came from the Old Church Slavonic language. It is connected with the verb “brother”, which meant marriage (taking a bride). By adding the suffix -k the word was obtained in its modern meaning. Also, some analogies can be found in the Ukrainian language. The word "brotherhood" means "to marry."

What about the common jokes about the meaning of the word “marriage”? Like, why was marriage called marriage if this term means a flaw? In this context, the word has a German meaning and was introduced into the Russian language during the time of Peter I. Thus, these two are absolutely different marriages, which are in no way related to each other.

Unofficial version

Why is marriage called marriage? The unofficial version takes us to Slavic mythology. In accordance with ancient beliefs, she knew everything about the intricacies of marriage, raising children and running a household. This is a certain standard of a loving and caring wife. So are all the girls who acquired such knowledge. Only they were accepted to be married.

But those girls who did not have family wisdom and knowledge were called BRIDES (that is, unprepared for marriage). But if alliances with them were nevertheless concluded, then they were called marriages (something incorrect). But this version does not pretend to be scientific.

Sounds different, but the meaning is the same

Why is marriage called marriage? To understand this issue, you need to study the etymology of the word and analyze its meaning in different cultures. So, we have already figured out the Old Slavonic meaning of “marriage”. In both French and Latin this word also means “to take, to have.” Now let's turn a little to the wedding ritual itself. After all, people exchange rings and take each other's hands. Thus, in almost all cultures, “marriage” is the union of people through the clasping of hands. This is a kind of symbol of a strong union between husband and wife.

Dahl's Dictionary

Why is the union of a man and a woman called marriage? An indirect answer to this question can be found in Dahl's dictionary. In it, the word “marriage” is correlated with the word “brashno”, which means food, food. So marriage is a feast. And what accompanies almost any wedding? Of course, a magnificent feast. Here's an analogy.

Modern reasoning

It's no secret that modern young people are not as serious about formalizing relationships as, for example, their parents and grandparents. Therefore, when asked why the union is called marriage, they have their own opinion. Thus, many believe that love and law are incompatible things. Some even find confirmation in the Bible: “For in iniquity he was conceived...”. That is, people were not connected by any official ties.

Why is cohabitation called civil marriage?

From the point of view of modern legislation, the phrase “civil marriage” in no way correlates with cohabitation without formalizing an official relationship. In accordance with precisely the same, there are officially registered family relationships. But if you delve deeper into history, it becomes clear that people use this term to denote cohabitation not at all without reason.

The fact is that until 1918 in Russia, marriages took place exclusively in the church (that is, through a wedding). But representatives of some religions (sectarians or Old Believers) for religious reasons could not go through this procedure. Therefore, their relationship was formalized by recording in the metric book. It is this phenomenon, from the point of view of church representatives, that is called “civil marriage.” Moreover, it had no legal consequences. That is, upon termination of cohabitation, spouses could not divide property. And in the event of the death of one of them, the second had no right to be an heir.

Why has the term “civil marriage” become so widespread in modern society? Yes, simply because the word “cohabitation” has negative associations. In addition, the definition of “actual marriage” is more suitable for such relationships, but it has not taken root in society.

Types of marriage in accordance with modern legislation

When it has already become clear why marriage is called marriage, it is advisable to study the types of this phenomenon in accordance with modern legislation. Thus, in the Family Code and other legal acts the following varieties are distinguished:

• Civil marriage is a relationship registered and formalized in accordance with the law and without the participation of the church. In domestic legislation, this type of marriage is the only one that is subject to legal norms.
• Church marriage is a relationship formalized through a wedding. In some countries, it has legal force equal to that registered with government agencies. However, according to domestic legislation, a church marriage is not official and does not have any legal force. In this regard, in many churches, priests perform weddings only if the marriage was previously registered in the registry office.
• A de facto marriage is an unregistered marriage-like relationship, which in law is more often called cohabitation. Even if people run a joint household and have common children, they do not have any marital rights or obligations.
• Civil partnership (or union) - common mainly in Western countries. This is an intermediate form between cohabitation and registered marriage. Despite the fact that the relationship is not formalized, the so-called “spouses” have some rights and responsibilities. A special feature is that this form of marriage is available to same-sex couples.
• A fictitious marriage is the official registration of a marriage without the intention of the parties to create an actual family in the generally accepted sense. Typically, the motives for concluding such a union are to obtain citizenship or political asylum, claim an inheritance, receive government benefits, or any other selfish goals.

Conclusion

There has been a lot of controversy around this lately. For example: why is marriage called marriage? After studying all the theories of the origin of this word, as well as becoming familiar with its meanings in other languages ​​of the world, a person gets the impression that the most plausible version is associated specifically with the word “hand”. That is, those getting married are people who hold hands. No matter how many jokes there are around the word “marriage,” it is the word that is generally accepted and appears in all legal acts.

Well, admit it, you also wondered why the union of a man and a woman is called MARRIAGE. It's not a very good word, is it? Well, perhaps there is some original and completely opposite explanation for this?

But nothing! I knew that everything here was entirely straightforward. Look here :)

In ancient times, among peoples who spoke the language from which the Russian language grew, a mature and trained girl was called a vesta. The girl’s training consisted of skills in building relationships with a man (it was believed that relationships are a woman’s responsibility, and future men were taught to be breadwinners and protectors). And the girls were taught by “Witches” - knowledgeable mothers (this status was held by older women who lived happily with their husbands and raised at least 12 children). So let's get back to marriage. If a trained girl (Vesta) got married, then it was called a union or family, and if the girl was not trained at that time (NeVesta), then it was called marriage.

I like this version, but in fairness, let's find out other versions:

1. Marriage (marriage).

The word “marriage” (matrimony) is borrowed from the Old Church Slavonic language, in which it meant “marriage” and is formed using the suffix -k (as, for example, the word “sign”) from the verb “brati” - “to take”. The connection of the word “marriage” with this verb is confirmed by the expression “get married”, the dialectal “take” - “get married”, the Ukrainian “became” - “got married”. The verb “brother” (originally meaning “to carry”), when applied to marriage, means “to seize”, “to kidnap”. The fact is that the basis of marriage among the ancient Slavs was the abduction of a girl from another clan or tribe. The origin of the word “marriage” is disputed. The Old Slavonic word “marriage” already meant the ritual of “getting married,” and then marriage itself, i.e., matrimony. Old Russian “marriage” is also “wedding”, “feast” and “matrimony”. In the same way, the Bulgarian word “marriage” means both “marriage” and “matrimony”.

2. Marriage (marriage). The second version, in my opinion, is more romantic :).

Before getting married, a man asks... what? Yes, that's right, the HANDS of your beloved! That is, marriage - this is a joining of hands to go through life together. And no matter what happens, be together “in sorrow and in joy.”

In Italian: braccio (il braccio) - arm from hand to shoulder.

In French: le braccia (le braccia) - hands, le bras - hands.

Latin: brachium (brachium) - arm (shoulder).

And then the words “getting married” mean “taking each other’s hands.”

3. Defect (poor quality product). Borrowed in the 17th century. through the Polish language, from the German language, where Brack is “worthless goods,” that is, “scrap” is a derivative of the verb brechen - (brechen) - “to break.” School etymological dictionary of the Russian language. Origin of words - M.: Bustard N. M. Shansky, T. A. Bobrova 2004.