wed

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun the fourth day of the week; the third working day
  2. verb take in marriage
  3. verb perform a marriage ceremony

Etymology

From Middle English wedden, weddien, from Old English weddian (“to pledge; wed”), from Proto-West Germanic *waddjōn, from Proto-Germanic *wadjōną (“to pledge”), from *wadją (“pledge”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wedʰ- (“to pledge”). Cognate with Scots wed, wod, wad (“to wed”), Saterland Frisian wädje (“to bet, wager”), West Frisian wedzje (“to bet, wager”), Low German and Dutch wedden (“to bet”), German wetten (“to bet”), Danish vædde (“to bet”), Swedish vädja (“to appeal”), Icelandic veðja (“to bet”); more distantly, to Sanskrit वधू (vadhū́, “bride”). Related also to gage, engage, and wage.

In classic literature

Synonyms

Wednesday, Midweek

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