wedlock
noun /ˈwedlɒk/
/ˈwedlɑːk/
[uncountable] (old-fashioned or law)- the state of being married
- in/out of wedlock children born in/out of wedlock (= whose parents are/are not married)
Word Originlate Old English wedlāc ‘marriage vow’, from wed ‘pledge’ (related to wed) + the suffix -lāc (denoting action).