Wiven

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To take a woman as a wife in marriage ; to supply or furnish someone with a wife
2. To wed a woman as one's spouse ; to give or provide a woman as a wife to another
3. To enter into marriage with a woman ; to bestow a wife upon someone

Etymology: "Wiven" is an archaic past participle, and its most likely source is "weave," which in Old English was "wefan." The "w" sound and the "-en" ending of "woven" are both inherited from that older verb. Spellings like "wiven" were common in Middle English, when the vowel in many past participles was still unsettled, and the modern "woven" is the form that survived. The spelling can mislead, because English also has a verb "wive," meaning to take a wife or marry. That verb comes from Old English "wīfian," from "wīf," meaning woman or wife, so its past participle would be "wived." The similarity in spelling is a coincidence and should not be taken as a connection between the two words. Any link to the marrying sense would be a mistake.