Betrothment

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The term describes the act of entering an engagement, wherein one party proposes to the other to be wed, often preceding the marriage ceremony
2. The concept refers to the formal agreement between individuals to engage in marriage, signifying their mutual intention to unite in a matrimonial bond
3. It indicates the stage of commitment where individuals declare their intent to marry, usually accompanied by a promise of fidelity

Etymology: "Betrothment" is a plain English compound: the verb "betroth," meaning to promise someone in marriage, with the suffix "-ment" added. That suffix comes from Latin "-mentum," which formed nouns naming a result or means of an action, and it reached English by way of Old French "-ment," so the ending carries the same sense of "the state or act of" that appears in words like "judgment" and "arrangement." The verb underneath it has an older history. "Betroth" was built in Middle English from "be-" and "troth," where "troth" meant faithfulness or a pledged word, so to betroth someone was literally to bind them with a solemn promise. "Troth" survives today mainly in the phrase "plight one's troth," which keeps that original sense of a sworn commitment alive.

Synonyms: engagement, betrothal, promise, pledge, commitment