Handfasting

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A traditional wedding ceremony where the couple's hands are tied together to symbolize their commitment to one another
2. A historical practice that signifies a couple's union by binding their hands together as a representation of fidelity
3. A ceremonial practice in which two individuals have their hands tied together to symbolize their vows of fidelity and unity

Etymology: Handfasting began as a legal act long before it became a wedding ritual. The Middle English "hondfast" meant "betrothed," and the verb "hondfesten" meant "to betroth," a word borrowed from Old Norse "handfesta," which meant "to strike a bargain" or "to pledge." Its parts were plain: "hönd," hand, and "festa," to fasten or affirm. The sense was of two parties binding themselves to an agreement by clasping hands. The English word is also a calque, a word-for-word copy of German "handfest," built from "Hand" and "fest," meaning "firm" or "strong." So the same image of a joined hand lies behind the Scandinavian and German forms, and English took the idea across in its own components. The practice itself was about making a promise binding. Its meaning as a tied-hands ceremony is what the modern term describes, and that connection to pledging and agreement is what the word's original sense preserves.