Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Marriage

Someone told me that Webster Dictionary now has a new definition for the word 'Marriage' to include same sex marriage.

I didn't believe it so I looked it up online:

Pronunciation: \'mer-ij, 'ma-rij\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English mariage, from Anglo-French, from marier to marry
Date: 14th century

1 a (1): the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law (2): the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage b: the mutual relation of married persons : wedlock c: the institution whereby individuals are joined in a marriage2: an act of marrying or the rite by which the married status is effected ; especially : the wedding ceremony and attendant festivities or formalities3: an intimate or close union

(red emphasis is mine)


I don't know when this change actually took place and I'm not sure that the print copy has caught up to the online version. But if it has our school children will now be tested to include this definition in their vocabulary testing.

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