Free TranslationFree Translation
Synonyms, antonyms, pronunciation

  Home
English Dictionary      examples: 'day', 'get rid of', 'New York Bay'




Handfast   Listen
verb
handfast  v. t.  (past & past part. handfasted; pres. part. handfasting)  
1.
To pledge; to bind. (Obs.)
2.
To betroth by joining hands, in order to permit cohabitation, before the formal celebration of marriage; in some parts of Scotland it was in effect to marry provisionally, permitting cohabitation for a year, after which the marriage could be formalized or dissolved. (Obs.) Note: Handfasting was a simple contract of agreement under which cohabitation was permitted for a year, at the end of which time the contract could be either dissolved or made permanent by a formal marriage. Such marriages, at first probably not intended to be temporary, are supposed to have originated in Scotland from a scarcity of clergy, and to have existed at times in other countries.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48







Copyright © 2024 e-Free Translation.com




Advanced search
     Find words:
Starting with
Ending with
Containing
Matching a pattern  

Synonyms
Antonyms
Quotes
Words linked to  

only single words



Share |