The origin or etymology of the words "marry" and "marriage" focuses on the perpetuation of mankind through the unique union of a man and a woman. The origin of these words started with the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root mari

(young woman) > Latin maritus (pl: married), Latin maritare (to marry, derivative of maritus) > Old French marier > Middle English marine mid13c > Middle English marry (spelled mari) 14c. Thus: marry.

 

Similarly, from the same PIE-root > Latin maritatus (past participle of maritatre; to marry) > Vulgar Latin maritaticum 11c (to marry, to be given in marriage) > Latin maritare (same) > Old French mariage 12c (same) > Middle English marriage 13c (action of marrying, also state or condition of being husband and wife, matrimony). Thus: marriage.

 

From these we see how both words "marry" and "marriage" found their way into the English language. But they are not the only words of importance to help explain the meaning and purpose of the unique union between a man and a woman.

 

Matrimony (state of being married)derives from Latin matrimonium meaning "marriage," which derives from matrem meaning "mother."

 

But why would the word for marriage be based on the word for mother? More on that further down.

 

As the word marry (originally spelled mari) found its way into the English language, it was complemented by references to the Virgin Mary (mother of Jesus).

 

At the same time Mary had become a common interjection or asseveration of swearing by, in the name of, the Virgin Mary. Thus, for example, "I swear by Mary, that what I tell you is the truth."

 

While the early Christian Church marriage customs were based on ancient traditions, Christians likened it to the example set when the Virgin Mary gave herself to God for the purpose of bearing Him His only begotten Son, Jesus.

 

The terminology that the Church used to symbolize this was to say that the woman would mary (eventually an extra "r" was added)  the man. To mary literally meant to do as the Virgin Mary did.

 

Originally, the Middle English spelling for Mary, similar to the word marry, was spelled Mari as the original Latin alphabet did not contain the letter "y". Though it would have been pronounced differently from its Pie-root mari; just as today mari in English speaking countries is pronounced ma:ri, and in the Uralic language (spoken by people primarily in Russia’s Mari Republic, but also elsewhere) is pronounced mah-ree (cf. MAIR-ee, MAR-ee).

 

It was not until the Bible was translated into the King James Version in 1611that the "i" was changed to "y".

 

The example (set when the Virgin Mary gave herself to God) mentioned above meant that the bride was a young pure virgin just like the Virgin Mary was, when the bride’s father gave her away to the groom.

 

In other words, she had gone through the unification process just as Mary had. At the same time women were considered to be at their prime peak for marriage between the ages of 14 and 18.

 

After the father gave away the bride, she was then considered to be marri-ed, reflecting the compliment given by the name Mary (the Virgin).

 

Now with an understanding how the words “marry” and “marriage” were derived, what they mean and the significance of what they define, three critical questions can be asked and answered:

 

1. Is marriage intrinsically related to the natural ability to parent?

 

Yes, the fact that the word "marriage" derives

from the French word for mother, as does

the word "matrimony" which comes from the Latin word for mother, makes it evident that the natural ability to parent is attached to those words and marriage itself.

 

2. Is marriage explicitly between a man and a woman?

 

Yes, as the words marry and marriage found their way into the English language especially

through Middle English, they came to mean a state or condition of being husband and wife which complement motherly instincts that only a woman can behold, and fatherly instincts that only a man can behold.

 

3. Is the word marriage likened to pious considerations?

 

Yes, no where in the worlds’ history did the word "marry" exist prior to it being conceived by the Christian church which likened it to and complemented it by references to the Virgin Mary. The Christian church also in translating the Bible into the King James Version changed the "I" to a "y", and eventually adding a "r" to complete today’s word and spelling of marry.  

 

Thus, the word "marry" belongs to any who take the vows to enter into marriage with full understanding what it means.

 

SOURCES:

 

- A Dictionary of the English Language: The Origin, History, and Connection of the Languages of Western Asia and Europe, Noah Webster LL.D., London 1828.

- Catechism of the Catholic Church, Part 2, The Celebration of the Christian Mystery, Sec. 2, The Seven Sacraments of the Church, Ch. 3, The Sacraments at the Service of Communion.

- Copious and Critical Latin-English Dictionary: Abridged and Re-Arranged from Riddle’s Latin-English Lexicon, 1866.

-  Deacon-structing Marriage: Part 3, Deacon Pedron, Light & Media, July 19, 2015.

- Dictionary of the English Language, Vol. 3, 1818.

- Dr. Martin’s examination of John Careless in Foxe’s Martyls, vol. ii, pg 1742 folio ed., 1597. / Notes and Queries, January 2, 1858.

- Essay on the Archaeology of our Popular Phrases and Terms, and Nursery Rhymes, John Bellenden Ker, Esq., Vol. II, 1840.

- Exposition of Genesis, H.C. Leupold (1942).

- History Begins at Sumer, Samuel Noah Kramer (1959).

- History of Marriage, Encyclopedia Americana (1961).

- Language History and Linguistic Modeling, Vol. 1, Language History, 1997.

- Online Etymology Dictionary, Douglas Harper, © 2001-2017.

- Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, 21st Edition, 2001.

- The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, First Edition, 1969.

- The Great Globe and All Who It Inherit: Narrative and Dialogue in Story-telling by Halliday, Vygotsky and Shakespeare, David Kellogg, page 204, 2014.

- The Universal English Dictionary: Comprising the Etymology, Definition, and Pronunciation…, John Craig F.G.S., 1869.

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