| 释义 |
▪ I. wed, n. Obs. exc. dial.|wɛd|
Also 1, 4 wedd, 3–6 wedde, (5 wede, weed); 5–9 Sc. wad, (5 vad), 9 Sc. and dial. wadd; 7 wade.
[Com. Teut.: OE. wed(d neut. = OFris. wed neut., pledge, covenant, OS. weddi neut., pledge (MLG. wedde pledge, wager, etc.), (M)Du. wedde fem., wages, OHG. wetti neut. (MHG. wette, wet neut., fem., pledge, wager, etc., mod.G. wette fem., wager), ON. veð neut., pledge (MSw. väþ neut., pledge, wager, Sw. väd neut., wager), Goth. wadi neut., earnest-money, pledge :— OTeut. *wađjo-m, cogn. w. L. vadem (vas) masc., surety (whence vadimōnium bail), Lith. wadúoti to redeem a pledge. The OTeut. word was adopted in the Rom. langs.: see gage n.1, wage n.]
1. A pledge, something deposited as security for a payment or the fulfilment of an obligation; sometimes of a person, a hostage.
a1122O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1016, & heora freondscipe þær ᵹefæstnodon, ᵹe mid wedde ᵹe mid aþe. a1225Ancr. R. 394 Ne telleð me him god feolawe þet leið his wed ine Giwerie uorto acwiten ut his fere? a1300Cursor M. 6798 If þat þou..O pur man tas wedd o clath Yeil[d] again þat clath..Ar sun ga dun þat ilk dai. a1310in Wright Lyric P. xxxix. 110 He hath hewe sum wher a burthen of brere, tharefore sum hay-ward hath taken ys wed. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. v. 244, I lerned amonge Lumbardes and Iewes a lessoun..to legge a wedde and lese it. 1382Wyclif Ezek. xviii. 7 He shal ȝeelde the wed [Vulg. pignus] to the dettour. c1389Eng. Gilds (1870) 91 And qwo-so come after prime be smeten, he shal pay jd, or leye a wed. 1436E.E. Wills (1882) 107 Item I wolle that the prioresse & the house of Chesthunt haue freely theire Weddys ayen withouten any mony payenge. c1440Promp. Parv. 519/1 Wedde, or thynge leyyd yn plegge, vadium, pignus. c1450Godstow Reg. 155 And he nother his heires shold never take wedde of the forsaide Anneys or of her assignes. 1458Forman's Monumt. Christ's Hosp., Abingdon 70 For now is Culham hithe i com to an ende,..Few folke there were coude that wey wende, But they waged a wed or payed of her purse. a1500in Arnolde's Chron. (1811) 18 Yf any man of our landis..take any tolle or custume of the citezens of London other wyse than they shuld the Sherefs of London shall take wed of hem at London. 1560Rolland Seven Sages Prol. iii, My buke to borrow greitlie scho did Inquyre, Ane wed thairfoir scho said scho wald doun lay. 1609Skene Reg. Maj. 49 Some things are borrowed and lent, be giving and receaving of ane wad. Ibid., Stat. Alex. II, 18 And gif he may not giue wades..he sall remaine as wade: aye and quhill he enter the pledges, quhilkis he promised. 1776Herd's Sc. Songs II. Gloss., Wad or wed, pledge, wager, pawn. 1818Scott Rob Roy xxxiv, I thought the chield Morris looked devilish queer when I determined he should remain a wad, or hostage, for my safe back-coming.
b. fig., or in reference to staking one's life (cf. 2 c, 4).
1340Ayenb. 102 Þis adopcion is ase weddes ase zayþ saynte paul huerby we byþ zikere þet we ssolle habbe þe eritage of oure uader. [Cf. Vulgate pignus, Eph. i. 14.] 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. iii. 195 Hedde I be Marchal of his Men..I durste haue I-leid my lyf, and no lasse wed, He hedde beo lord of þat lond. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xviii. (Egipciane) 624 For oure sawete one quhilk [tree] vas he put, & his blud schede, & for ws put nane vthir wed. 1399Langl. Rich. Redeles iii. 309 And ho so grucche or grone, aȝeins her grette willes, May lese her lyff lyghtly, and no lesse weddis. c1400Beryn 2984 No les wed þen lyvis! c1530Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1903) 59 He that lawith at a mynstrels worde, gevith to hym a wedde.
†c. A nuptial pledge or promise. Obs.
c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xli. (Agnes) 400 Here-of in vitnesyng remanis ay þe forsad ryng one þe fyngire of þat ymag of vad of weding in-to vag. 1390Gower Conf. I. 94 Bot ferst, er thou be sped, Thou schalt me leve such a wedd, That I wol have thi trowthe in honde That thou schalt be myn housebonde.
†2. In various phrases the n. assumes the contextual sense: The condition of being pawned, mortgaged, given up as a hostage, etc. (Cf. pledge n. 6.) Obs.
a. to wed, in wed: as a pledge or hostage. in wed of: as security for (a payment, etc.).
For dead wed (= mortgage) see dead a.
Beowulf 2998 Ond þa Iofore forᵹeaf anᵹan dohtor, hamweorðunge, hyldo to wedde. c1250Gen. & Ex. 2198 Ðis symeon bi-lef ðor in bond, To wedde under Iosepes hond. c1440Gesta Rom. xxiv. 88 But if þou pay now, I shal holde thi wif to wed, tyll tyme þat I be paied fully my salary. 1460Extracts Aberd. Reg. (1844) I. 405 That na induellande of this burgh..tak in wed ony gudis that Wat Cutlaris wife bryngis for ony penyworthis oythir than dry siluer. 1488Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. I. 98 [13l. 10s.] quhilk he had gevin away at the Kingis command, and had the Thesauraris signet in wed tharof. 1530Burgh Rec. Edin. (1871) II. 28 Item, that na maner of parsonis man nor woman tak ony claith in wedd fra vtheris. 1561Burgh Rec. Stirling (1887) 79 Ane chenyie of gold..quhilk the Lady Caterene..deliverit him in wed of the sowme of ane hundreth and tuenty merkis. 1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 333 The Scotis sulde gyue Cumbirland,..in wedd of payment of the hail soume.
†b. to set, put, lay to or in wed, to betake on wed: to pawn, pledge (valuables), to deposit (money) as security; to mortgage (land); to give up (a person) as a hostage. to take out of wed: to redeem (something pledged). Obs.
a900ælfred's Dooms xxxvi, Ᵹif mon..hræᵹl.. to wedde selle. c1205Lay. 25172 Mi lond ich wulle sette to wedde for seoluere. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 8083 He..leide willam is broþer to wedde normandye & borowede þer uppe of him an hondred þousend marc. 1382Wyclif Amos ii. 8 And on clothis leyde to wedde thei eeten bysidis eche auter. 1387Trevisa Higden V. 31 Hym was levere legge to wedde [L. distrahere] his vessel of silver and of gold..þan greve provinces and londes and þe senatoures. c1412Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 4904 And yf he stire you and meeve Your jewels ley in wedde, certein he Lovethe your estate and prosperitee. 1430Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 38/2 Wyt yhe me in my strenyeand myster til haf put in wede til my lowyt..frend Andro Osteler..al the landis of [etc.]. 1450Rolls of Parlt. V. 205/2 His plate and other goodes sold, and in wed layed. c1450Merchant & Son 162 in Hazl. E.P.P. I. 143 Fadur, y schall do my parte to helpe yow owt of peyne, Yf y schulde leye my selfe to wedd, or that ye come ageyne. 1462in Spalding Club Misc. V. 22 His tua sponys..at wer laid in wede to the said Thome. 1483Cath. Angl. 412/1 To take owt of Wedde, depignerare. c1500Lyt. Geste Robyn Hode 212 My londes bethe sette to wedde..To a ryche abbot..Of saynt Mary abbay. 1536Bellenden Cron. Scot. (1821) I. p. lvii, He that sald his swerd, or laid it to wed, was degradit of auctorite, and banist, as unworthy creature, out of thair cumpany. 1567in 6th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. 643/2 Layd in wed to Maister Robert Rychartson..in pledge of fywe thousand pundis thir jowellis after following. 1573in Inventaires de la Royne Descosse (Bannatyne Club) Pref. p. cliii, All that was lefte of the juelles unlayde to wed. 1597J. S. Cert. MS. Poems, Way to Thrift F 6, And lay to wed both pot and panne When the fire clean is blowne out. 17..Druken Wife o' Gallowa v. in Herd Sc. Songs (1776) II. 39 My Sunday's coat she has laid it a wad.
†c. fig. Often, to lay one's life, head, to wed, used to confirm or guarantee an assertion or an undertaking (cf. 4). Obs.
971Blickl. Hom. 131 Þæs Halᵹan Gastes, se wæs of heofenum onsended..to wedde þæs heofonlican eþles. a1300Cursor M. 16670 Þare he gaf his suete flesche for ur ranscun in wedd. 1338R. Brunne Chron. (1725) 246 Sir Adam of Stretton fulle hard was he led, Nouht without encheson, I lay my gloue to wed. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xviii. 31 Lyf seyth þat he likth and leyth his lif to wedde, Þat [etc.]. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 423 Herby þei myght bye mennis synnes, and laye hor soules in wedde, þat oþer mennis soules shulde be saved. 1390Gower Conf. I. 95 And thus his trowthe he leith to wedde. c1400Mandeville (1839) xv. 167 Thei..profreden here hedes to wedde, but ȝif it wolde falle as thei seyden. c1400Gosp. Nicodemus (Galba) 100 Þaire carping þare no thing þou knew, We lay oure heuiddes in wed. 1430–40Lydg. Bochas viii. xxiv. (1554) 194 b, The sweord of Arthur he durst not abide, Lest he should lay his lyfe to wed. c1460Towneley Myst. xxviii. 56, I dar lay my heede to wed, Or that we go vntill oure bed That we shall here anothere. c1470Henry Wallace iv. 633 Ȝit felle Sothron left the lyff to wed. Ibid. ix. 1209 My hed to wed, Lochlewyn he past to se. a1500in Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1903) 247 A leche hath layd hys hed to wed To make a plaster that wolde me please. c1530Hickscorner C j, I warraunt you she wyll neuer saye you naye My lyfe I dare laye to wedde.
†d. to lie or be to or in wed: to be in pawn. lit. and fig. Obs.
c1386Chaucer Knt.'s T. 360 Lat hym be war, his nekke lith to wedde. 1464Paston Lett. II. 146 For in London lyth to wedde many ryche jowells of ouris. 1497Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. I. 345 Item..giffin to the Prothonotar, to quit out the Duke of Yorkis broune hors that lay in wed in the toune, xiiij lib. c1518Skelton Magnyf. 2168 He may rynse a pycher, for his plate is to wed. 1556–7Rec. Inverness (New Spalding Club) I. 5 The forsaid pece of land wes lyand to hyme in wed of ten pundis.
†3. Something taken or left that serves as evidence. Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 4402 Bot for mi cri ful suith he [Joseph] fled And left wit me a taken wedd [Gött. a tokin in wedd]; His mantel es bi-left wit me, þat ilk man þee sothe mai see. Ibid. 7706 Fra þe kings aun bedd þus he [sc. David] broght a priue wedd.
4. A stake in a game or wager. Also fig. † to lay wed: to wager (cf. 2 c).
c1320Sir. Tristr. 320 Now boþe her wedde lys, And play þai biginne. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints i. (Petrus) 488 Lat Symone one fer stand fra þe bede, And ȝe sal se, I lay wede, Þe fendis craft sone onhyde. 1540St. Papers Hen. VIII (1836) V. 178 He harde the Kynge say..that He trestyd to gett that proffett that never Kynge of Scottes had, and He shulde other have yt, or yt shulde coste Hym the best wed He had to leysse. 1665R. Brathwait Comm. Two Tales 166 It is a dear wade, when your Life lies upon last Stake. 1670Blount Glossogr. (ed. 3), Wed, a gage or pawn; a word still retained in the Country sport, called Pray my Lord a course in your park. 1721J. Kelly Sc. Prov. 19 A Wad is a Fool's Argument. Spoken when, after hot disputing, we offer to lay a Wager that we are in the Right. 1802Sibbald Chron. Sc. P. IV. Gloss., Wadds, a youthful amusement, wherein much use is made of pledges. 1808Jamieson, Wadds... In this game, the players being equally divided..each lays down one or more wads or pledges at that extremity where the party, to which he belongs, chuse their station. A boundary being fixed at an equal distance from the extremities, the object is to carry off the wads from the one of these to the other.
†5. A gage of battle. Obs.
c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 8404 Tak ȝe non hede of þeyr grete host, ffor wel ȝe wot þei ar bot bost,..ffor þem our wed schal nought be leued. c1435in Kingsford Chron. London (1905) 54 ‘This shull I preve with my body, and se here my wedde’: and threwe fforth his hode.
†6. Comb. (all Obs.): wed-bed, the marriage bed; wedbedrip Law, some kind of bedrip (the force of wed- is uncertain); wed-breach, breach of covenant (OE.), adultery; wed-break [as if OE. *wedbreca], an adulterer; wed-brother [cf. ON. veðbróðir], a sworn brother; wed-fee, a wager, the prize in a contest; wed-fere, a spouse; wed-keeper, a stakeholder; wedman, a married man; pl. married people; wed-shooting (Sc. wad-), shooting for a prize; wed-spite nonce-wd. = spite-wed.
In the later instances referring to marriage prob. directly associated with wed v.
a1650Old Robin 9 in Percy Fol. MS. I. 235 They had not in their *wed bed laid, scarcly were both on sleepe, but vpp shee rose. 1798W. Taylor in Monthly Mag. V. 367 Those priests the wed-bed who renounce.
c1325in Kennett Par. Antiq. (1818) I. 575 Et debet unam *Wedbedrip pro voluntate dominæ.
c1020Wulfstan Hom. xxxiii. (1883) 164 Eac syndan wide..þurh aðbrycas and ðurh *wed⁓brycas and ðurh mistlice leasunga forloren and forloᵹen. 1638W. Lisle Heliodorus ii. 29 This crime of wed-breach.
a1300E.E. Psalter xlix. 18 If..with *wedbrek [Vulg. cum adulteris] þi dele þou sete.
c1100O.E. Chron. (MS. D) an. 1016, Coman beᵹen þa cyningas to gædre..& wurdon feolaᵹan & *wed broðra. c1205Lay. 14469 Send after mine sune Octa & æfter..Ebissa his wed-broðer. c1300K. Horn (Laud MS.) 295 He tok wit him anoþer þat was hornes wed broþer. c1330Florice & Bl. (Abbotsf. Club) 163 We beth wed brethren and trewthe iplight. c1400Brut (1906) 120 O þow false traitoure! haste þow my trewe wed⁓broþer slayn for cause of me?
c1420Avow. Arth. x, Butte carpe we now of ther othir thre, How thay preuyd hor *wedde-fee. 1504–5Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. III. 128 Item, to Dande Doule, that the King tynt on ane wedfee, xiiij s. a1600Montgomerie Devot. Poems iii. 7 Sleep na mair in sleuth and sin, Bot..richtly rin That hevinly wedfie for to win Vhilk he prepairs for his. 1620in A. Maxwell Hist. Old Dundee (1884) 408 [He] put in the hands of Thomas Scot..twa double-angels of gold upon ane woodfie betwix himself and Alexander Hering. 1637Rutherford Let. to Alex. Gordon 16 June, It is folly then for men to say, this is not Christ's plea, he will lose the wed-fee, men are like to beguile him: that were indeed a strange play.
13..Sir Beues (A) 3168, I trowe, he is nouȝt now here, þat schel be me *wedde-fere!
1591R. Bruce Serm. Edin. C 4 b, For as to this conscience, it is a faithfull *wed⁓keeper: the gages that it receiveth, it randeris.
c1460Towneley Myst. iii. 400 Me thynk my hert ryfis,..To se sich stryfis *wedmen emong. Ibid. xiii. 65 We sely wedmen dre mekyll wo. c1475Pict. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 806/22 Hic sponsus, a wedman.
1792Statist. Acc. Scot. II. 509 Many amuse themselves..with shooting for prizes, called here *wad-shooting.
c1560Sir T. Smith in Strype Life (1698) App. 24 You may well be called Mr. Agamus or Misogamus, Surnamed in right English, *Wedspite, or Spitewed. For I never heard Man speak so despitefully against Wedding and Marriage of the Queens Majesty in my Life.
▪ II. wed, v.|wɛd|
Inflected wedded (also wed), wedding. Forms: 1 weddian, 2–3 weddenn, 3–4 wedden, weddi, -y, 3–5 wedd, (4 weed, 5 weede, wid, weddon), 3–6 wedde, 8–9 Sc. wad, 4– wed.
[Com. Teut.: OE. węddian corresponds to OFris. weddia, MLG. wedden, OHG. wettôn (MHG., mod.G. wetten), to pledge, wager, ON. veðja to pledge, Goth. ga-wadjōn to espouse (ἁρµόζεσθαι):—OTeut. *wađjōjan, f. *wađjo-m wed n.
The form wed in the pa. tense is now only dialectal; in the pa. pple. it is common dial. but otherwise rare exc. in poetry.]
†1. intr. To engage, covenant (to do something). Only OE. (Const. gen. or to with gerundial inf.)
a1000Laws æthelstan §23 (Liebermann) Ᵹif hwa ordales weddiᵹe, ðonne cume he [etc.]. c1000Ags. Gosp. Luke xxii. 5 And hiᵹ.. him weddedon feoh to syllenne.
2. trans. To wager, stake (e.g. money, one's life, one's head). Obs. exc. Sc. and north.
1362Langl. P. Pl. A. iv. 129 And ȝif þou worchest hit in wit Ich wedde boþe myn Eres, Þat lawe schal ben a laborer. 1393Ibid. C. iii. 36 My lyf ich dar wedde, He shal lese for hure loue a lappe of trewe charite. c1430Chev. Assigne 27 & þat dare I my hedde wedde. 1560Peebles Burgh Rec. (1872) 262 Stene Robesone weddit ten merkis of money aganes the said tar barrell that scho suld nocht mary the said king of Swane. c1600Montgomerie Sonn. xlvi. 8 Shute on; lat sie vho first my wedfie wins; For I will wed ane apple and a nute. 1786Burns Earnest Cry & Prayer xv, Or faith! I'll wad my new pleugh-pettle, Ye'll see't or lang. 1818Scott Hrt. Midl. xxxvi, I'll wad ye a plack, as we say in the north, that you get the pardon from the king. 1843in T. Doubleday Coquet-Dale Fishing Songs (1852) 110 I'se wad a pund, when night comes round, That, creel for creel, we bang them a'! 1876Whitby Gloss., Wad, to pledge; to bet. 1894A. Reid Sangs o' the Heatherland 54 I'll wad that sune our neebors' heids Will doors and windocks thrang.
3. To marry. (Common in dialects; otherwise only literary.)
a. trans. Originally, to make (a woman) one's wife by the giving of a pledge or earnest. More fully, † to wed (a woman) to wife, to or unto his wife. Hence, of a person of either sex: To take in marriage; to become the husband or wife of (a person) by participating in a prescribed ceremony or formal act.
a1000Laws Edmund, Be wifmannes beweddunge §1 (Liebermann) Ᵹif man mædan oððe wif weddian wille, & hit swa hire & freondan ᵹeliciᵹe, [etc.]. Ibid. §6 Ᵹif hy þonne ælces þinges sammæle beon, ðonne fon maᵹas to & weddian heora maᵹan to wife. c1205Lay. 22243 Þis maiden he gon wedde and nom heo to his bedde. c1250Gen. & Ex. 1090 Two ðor werren quam him ðoȝte ear To wedden his two doȝtres ðear; Loth hem warnede. c1275Lay. 4500 A king of Britayne hadde hire i-wedded [c 1205 biwedded]. 13..E.E. Allit. P. A 772 Quat-kyn þyng may be þat lambe, Þat þe wolde wedde vnto hys vyf? c1380Sir Ferumb. 1422 Wolde he be my worldly make & weddy me to wyue. Ibid. 2012, & she hym wedede after þan þat was hure fader fo. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) xv. 70 Þe lady had mykill sorow þat scho had wedded him. c1475Rauf Coilȝear 925 Wed ane worthie to wyfe. 1485Plumpton Corr. (Camden) 48 My lord Schanchler publyshed in the Parlament house the same day, that the Kings gud grace shall weede my lady Elizabeth. a1533Ld. Berners Huon lxii. 216, I wyll wed her to my wyfe. 1548–9Bk. Com. Prayer, Matrimony 14 With thys ring I thee wed. 1552Huloet, Wedde, denubo, for the woman; desponso, for the man. 1599Shakes. Much Ado iii. ii. 118 If you loue her, then to morrow wed her. a1663Killigrew Parson's Wedd. iv. i. (1664) 124 Pars. If she be my wife Sir? I have wedded her and Bedded her, what other Ceremonies would you have? 1794Burns Weary Pund o' Tow iv, And 'or I wad anither jad, I'll wallop in a tow. 1816J. Wilson City of Plague i. iv. 248 The husband, now no longer tied May wed a new and blushing bride. 1856Aytoun Bothwell i. xxiv, I wed A trembling, sickly, shrewish dame, And put her from my bed. 1873Black Pr. Thule ix. 133 To think that your aunt would forbid your wedding a King's daughter!
fig.c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 339 Cristis Chirche is his Spouse... And fer be it fro Cristene men to graunte þat Crist haþ weddid þe fend. c1450Godstow Reg. 15 O true valeyntyne is oure lord to me... With his blode, Seynt dauid! he did me wedde. 1593Shakes. Rich. II, v. i. 94 Come, come, in wooing Sorrow let's be briefe, Since wedding it, there is such length in Griefe. 1667Milton P.L. v. 216 They led the Vine To wed her Elm. 1670Dryden 2nd Pt. Conq. Granada iii. (1672) 113 In gaining him, I gain that Fortune too Which he has Wedded, and which I but Wooe. 1781Cowper Retirem. 229 As woodbine weds the plant within her reach.
†b. Phrase. to wed (a) wife: to get married.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 6798 Me sede þe king þat he moste nede wede wif. a1300Cursor M. 3216 Abraham wald in his lijf þat ysaac had wedded a wijf. c1325Lai le Freine 248 Than was ther..A riche knight..yong, and joliue; And had nought yete y-wedded wiue. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. x. 149 He hath wedded a wyf with-inne this syx monethes. 1460J. Capgrave Chron. (Rolls) 139 The fader of Gefrey Plauntgenet wedded a wyf only for beute. 1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 124 b, To one demaundyng when best season wer to wedde a wife.
4. To bind (the contracting parties) in wedlock; to conduct the marriage ceremony for (a man and woman); also absol.
1{ddd} Rule of Chrodegang (Napier) 81 Brydguman & bryde mid ᵹebedum & mid ofringum mæssepreost sceal bletsian & weddian hi & betæcan hi be laᵹum. c1440Jacob's Well 21 We schewyn acursyd..alle preestys þat..weddyn ony oþere but here owyn parysschenys wyth-oute leve, or weddyn wythoute þe banys askyd. c1450Godstow Reg. 1 Alle men of religion þat howselith, or weddith, or anelith any man or woman, with-out leve. c1450Contin. Brut 425 The Erchebisshop of Caunturburi..weddid hem togederis there by ordynaunce of God and holy chirche. c1533Ld. Berners Huon lxii. 214 How Huon..went to Rome to the pope, who weddyd togyther Huon and the fayr Esclaramonde. 1546Yorks. Chantry Surv. (Surtees) 228 The sayd incumbent shuld..burye, wedde, and christen wythin the sayd chappell. 1876R. Broughton Joan i. xxxii, The Helmsley Courier devotes three columns to the describing of..how they were clad, who wed them, [etc.].
b. To give (a woman) in marriage; to cause to be married.
c1374Chaucer Troylus v. 863 And whi here fader tarieth so longe To wedden here vn-to som worthi wight. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints vi. (Thomas) 47 Þe kinge of þat cunctre of nev his douchtir vedit had. 1843J. S. Knowles Secretary ii. i. 21 My father cannot wed me 'gainst my will.
5. pass. To be joined in wedlock; to be married † with, † unto, to (a husband or wife); also, to be joined together as husband and wife.
c1200Ormin 1942 & ȝuw birrþ witenn þatt ȝho wass Weddedd þurrh Godess wille Wiþþ an weppmann off hire kinn. Ibid. 1990 & forrþi wass ȝho till Josæp Wiþþ Godess laȝhe weddedd. a1225Ancr. R. 394 Auh þauh heo were iwedded him heo muhte i-wurðen so unwrest, [etc.]. c1300Havelok 1127 To-mo[r]we ye sholen ben weddeth, And, maugre þin, to-gidere beddeth. 138.Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 334 She lyvede sevene ȝeer wiþ hir hosebonde þat was weddid wiþ hir fro her maidenhod. a1450Knt. de la Tour xlvii–xlix. 66 After the knight was wedded to another wiff, and he and the secounde wiff leued togedre .v. yere. 1529Frith Antithesis 96 b, The Pope sayeth.., my prestes also shall not be wedded. 1590Shakes. Com. Err. i. i. 37 In Siracusa was I borne, and wedde Vnto a woman, happy but for me. 1610Holland Camden's Brit. 231 Cecilie..was wedded to Thomas Greie. 1667Milton P.L. ix. 828 And Adam, wedded to another Eve, Shall live with her enjoying, I extinct. 1673J. W[ade] Vinegar & Mustard (1873) 21 Before that ever we were wed. 1819Scott Ivanhoe xxiv, When I returned..I found her wedded to a Gascon squire. 1874Green Short Hist. iv. §1. 162 Eleanor the daughter of Simon of Montfort..was wedded to him [Llewelyn] at the English court.
fig.c1374Chaucer Anel. & Arc. 131 Hir hart was to him weddid with a Ringe. a1400Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. xl. 253 Ihesu, my soule is weddet to þe.
6. intr. († also refl.). To enter into the matrimonial state; to take a wife or husband; to contract matrimony. Const. † to, with.
a1225Ancr. R. 368 Nolde him liken betere þen þauh me seide him þet heo gleowede & gomede, & wedde mid oðer men, & liuede in delices? c1393Chaucer Mariage 18 Bet ys to wedde than brenne in worse wise. 1483Caxton Golden Leg. 170/1 Aurelyan..came to domycelle for to wedde and accomplissh the maryage by force ageynst hir wyll. 1530Palsgr. 778/2 There be seasons forbydden to wedde in. 1562J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 132 Who wedth ere he be wise, shall die ere he thriue. 1592Kyd Murther. I. Brewen Wks. (1901) 292 ‘But if I were so minded’ (quoth he), ‘I would be twice aduised how I did wed with such a strumpet as thy selfe’. 1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. iii. ii. 17 Hee'll wooe a thousand,..Yet neuer meanes to wed where he hath woo'd. 1619J. Dyke Counterpoyson (1620) 21 And yet how many sticke not to wed to Canaanites! 1721Lett. fr. Mist's Jrnl. (1722) II. 248 A Country Fellow had the Misfortune to wed with one of the Godly. 1781Cowper Table-T. 554 As if the poet, purposing to wed, Should carve himself a wife in gingerbread. 1807Crabbe Par. Reg. i. 434 Yet..there were times of joy, (The day they wed, the christening of the boy). a1834Coleridge in Lit. Rem. (1839) IV. 59 Alas! alas! this is the misery of it, that so many wed and so few are Christianly married! 1859Tennyson Marr. Geraint 227 And may you..live to wed with her whom first you love. 1884H. Spencer in Contemp. Rev. Feb. 155 Dissenters..were made free to wed by a purely civil rite.
fig.a1225Leg. Kath. 1517 He haueð iweddet him to mi meiðhad mit te ring of rihte bileaue. 1621Heylin Microcosmus 243 [The Thames] flieth through Berks, Buck: Middlesex, Surrey, Kent, and Essex; and so weddeth himself with the Kentish Medway.
7. trans. To unite as in marriage.
a. To attach (a person, his thoughts, etc.) indissolubly by affection to something. Chiefly in pass., to be obstinately attached to (an opinion, one's own will, a habit, a faction, etc.). Also (rarely) refl., to addict or devote oneself to a party.
c1397Chaucer Lack Stedf. 28 (MS. Cotton) O prince..Drede god..And wed thi folk ayen to stedfastnesse. 142126 Pol. Poems xviii. 6 Swete þouȝt in deuocion, Is weddid to chastite. 1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 279 b, This Pompeius..wedded hymselfe wholly to the faccion of Sylla. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VIII 181 b, The kyng perceived & knewe well, that the quene was wedded to her awne opinion. 1562J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. L ij b, I was wedded vnto my wyll. 1575Fleming Virg. Bucol. To Indifferent Rdr., The Bucolikes of Virgil..I haue translated into the Englishe tongue, wedding my selfe (as it were) to y⊇ vulgar and common phrase of speach. 1614Ralegh Hist. World iii. i. §5. 9 It highly commends his diligence and iudgement, that he was not so wedded to any author, as affected with the loue of truth. 1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. vii. xxxi. 47 They are so wedded to superstition, that some adore the Devil. 1703R. Neve City & C. Purchaser 45 Nations..are very apt to be wedded to their own Ways and Methods. 1707Curios. in Husb. & Gard. 20 The frivolous Cares that wed you to the Town. 1712Arbuthnot John Bull iv. vi, Your Honour has it in your power to wed me still closer to your interest! c1750Shenstone Love & Hon. 88 The love That weds each bosom to its native soil. 1800Campbell On leaving a Scene in Bavaria xvii, Then wed thee to an exile's lot. 1866Trollope Claverings iii, He was not wedded to the joys of his college hall, or the college common room. 1887Colvin Keats ii. 34 Ready to entertain..any set of ideas.., he could never wed himself to any as representing ultimate truth. 1889Mrs. E. Kennard Landing a Prize viii, You have been wedded to your comforts all your life. 1913Woodrow Wilson New Freedom vi. 119 There are those, of course, who are wedded to the old ways.
†b. To unite by liking or custom with. Obs.
c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 364 And errour in weiyng of þis love makiþ many fals weddingis; as men ben weddid wiþ þer habitis, and þer custumes, and þer singular maners, as ȝif þei weren Cristis comaundementis.
†c. To commit or pledge (a person) irrevocably to a course of action. Obs.
1578H. Wotton Courtlie Controv. 251 Hauing maried a woman which did but dishonour the countrey, and had wedded him vnto a war so daungerous, as [etc.].
d. To join or couple (a thing) intimately with or to something else; to associate closely together.
1818Keats Endym. ii. 408 Above his head, Four lily stalks did their white honours wed To make a coronal. 1839Hood Storm at Hastings x, Whilst we were panting with the sultry weather, And hardly cared to wed two words together. 1851Westcott Introd. Study Gospels i. (1860) 78 The LXX. wedded Greek language to Hebrew thought. 1887Saintsbury Hist. Elizab. Lit. ii. (1890) 46 The Ecclesiastical Polity remains a book in which matter and manner are wedded as in few other books of the same kind. 1891Lindley's New Holidays in Essex 38 There is an excellent thing locally wedded with Blackwater boating. It is sausages.
†8. To espouse, adopt (a cause, a course of conduct, a custom, etc.). Obs.
1626T. H[awkins] tr. Caussin's Holy Crt. 4 Men, who willingly wed the manners, and affections of those on whom they see theyr fortunes depend. 1647Clarendon Hist. Reb. i. §49 And though..most of the principal men of the House of Commons were again elected to serve in this Parliament, yet they were far from wedding the war. Ibid. ii. §57 Most of the King's Privy Council..now as frankly wedded that interest as any of the leaders. 1742Young Nt. Th. i. 51 O lead my mind,..and fix my firm resolve Wisdom to wed. 1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. II. i. ii, Or, in milder language, They have wedded their delusions: fire nor steel, nor any sharpness of Experience, shall sever the bond.
▪ III. wed, ppl. a. rare.|wɛd|
[pa. pple. of wed v.]
= wedded.
a1400Morte Arth. 700 This werre..That warnes me wyrchippe of my wedde lorde. a1400Relig. Pieces fr. Thornton MS. 5 The sexte commandement forbeddes vs..to foly fleschely with any womane owþer..wedde or unwedde. c1440Alphabet of Tales xxxv. 25 He was a wed man. 1823Byron Juan xi. xlvi, A rib's a thorn in a wed gallant's side, Requires decorum.
▪ IV. wed(d
obs. forms of weed n.1, n.2, v.1 |