the.com/betrothal
a promise to marry that was once more legally binding than the wedding itself.
means A formal engagement or mutual promise to marry, traditionally made before the wedding itself.
from From the verb "betroth," a Middle English knitting-together of the prefix "be-" (an intensifier, as in "bedeck" or "bewitch") and "troth" — an older form of "truth" meaning faithfulness, loyalty, one's pledged word. So to betroth was, quite literally, to truth oneself to another: to bind your good faith. The same "troth" survives in the old wedding phrase "I plight thee my troth." Both "troth" and "truth" descend from Old English "trēowth," rooted in the sense of being firm and trustworthy, possibly a distant cousin of "tree" — the idea of something steadfast and rooted.
- old weight
- Medieval betrothals could be broken only by church courts
- ring origin
- Engagement rings predate weddings by centuries
- two words
- Comes from Old English for pledging your truth
- child contracts
- Royal infants were once betrothed before walking
- binding kiss
- A betrothal kiss once sealed property and dynasty
charles and diana — british royal engagement announced february 1981, watched by 750 million viewers
elizabeth and philip — british royal betrothal in 1947, married 73 years until philip's death in 2021
william and kate — announced december 2010 after 8-year courtship at st andrews university