Etymograph

English

marry

Marry comes from Middle English marien, from Anglo-Norman marïer, from Latin marītō ‘to wed’, from marītus ‘husband’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmās1‘man, male’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmarītus1‘husband, suitor’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmarītō1‘to wed’
  4. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400marïer1
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500marien1‘to marry’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1526marry1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English marry
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1526, [William Tyndale, The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible): “THe kyngdom̃ of hevẽ is lyke vnto a certayne…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmāsWiktionary, English marry‘man, male’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmarītusWiktionary, English marry‘husband, suitor’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmarītōWiktionary, English marry‘to wed’
  4. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400marïerWiktionary, English marry
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500marienWiktionary, English marry‘to marry’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1526marryWiktionary, English marry. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1526, [William Tyndale, The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible): “THe kyngdom̃ of hevẽ is lyke vnto a certayne…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with marry, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Latin mās ‘man, male’

  • male ← masle ← masclus ← masculus
  • masculine ← masculyne ← masculin ← masculīnus ← masculus
  • masculinity ← masculinité ← masculīnitās ← masculīnus ← masculus
  • macho ← maslo ← masclus ← masculus
  • machismo ← macho ← maslo ← masclus ← masculus

through Latin marītus ‘husband, suitor’

  • marriage ← mariage ← mariage ← marier ← marītō
  • marital ← marītālis

through Middle English marien ‘to marry’

13 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

verb To enter into the conjugal or connubial state; to take a husband or a wife.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “marry”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin mās / marry