betroth

English

Etymology

From Middle English bitrouthen, bitreuthen, from treuthe (“truth”), from Old English trēowþe (“truth, pledge, troth”). Equivalent to be- +‎ troth.

Pronunciation

(UK) IPA^(key): /bɪˈtɹəʊð/
- Audio (Southern England): (file)
(US, Canada) IPA^(key): /bɪˈtɹoʊð/
(General Australian) IPA^(key): /bɪˈtɹəʉð/, /bɪˈtɹɐʉð/
- Audio (Queensland); /bɪˈtɹɐʉð/: (file)
Rhymes: -əʊð

Verb

betroth (third-person singular simple present betroths, present participle betrothing, simple past betrothed, past participle betrothed or betrothen)

To promise to give in marriage.
He betrothed his daughter to a distant relative.
- 1885, W[illiam] S[chwenck] Gilbert, Arthur Sullivan, composer, […] The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu, London: Chappel & Co., […], →OCLC:
  We loved each other at once, but she was betrothed to her guardian Ko-Ko, a cheap tailor.
To promise to take (as a future spouse); to plight one's troth to.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Deuteronomy 20:7:
  What man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her?

Derived terms

Translations

to promise to give in marriage

Albanian: mbles (sq)
Armenian: նշանել (hy) (nšanel)
Aromanian: isusescu
Bulgarian: сгодявам (bg) (sgodjavam)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 許配 / 许配 (zh) (xǔpèi), 許嫁 / 许嫁 (zh) (xǔjià), 聘 (zh) (pìn)
Dutch: verloven (nl)
Esperanto: fianĉigi
Finnish: luvata puolisoksi
French: fiancer (fr)
German: verloben (de)
Greek: μνηστεύω (el) (mnistévo)
Hungarian: eljegyeztet
Ido: fiancar (io)
Irish: geall
Italian: fidanzare (it), promettere in sposa
Maori: taipū, whakaihi, whakapākūwhā
Occitan: prometre (oc), acordar (oc), aprodelar
Ottoman Turkish: نشانلامق (nişanlamak)
Polish: zaręczyć się
Portuguese: prometer (pt)
Romanian: logodi (ro)
Russian: обруча́ть (ru) impf (obručátʹ), обручи́ть (ru) pf (obručítʹ), помо́лвить (ru) pf (pomólvitʹ)
Serbo-Croatian: zaručiti (sh)
Slovene: zaročiti se
Spanish: prometer (en matrimonio)
Swedish: förlova (sv), trolova (sv)
Thai: คู่หมั้น่

to promise to take as a future spouse

Azerbaijani: nişanlanmaq (az), adaxlanmaq
Chinese:
Mandarin: 訂婚 / 订婚 (zh) (dìnghūn)
Dutch: zich verloven
Esperanto: fianĉiĝi
Finnish: kihlata (fi) (tr.), kihlautua (fi) (intr.)
French: se fiancer (fr)
German: sich verloben (de)
Greek: μνηστεύομαι (el) (mnistévomai)
Hungarian: eljegyez (hu)
Icelandic: trúlofast
Ido: fiancar su
Irish: luaigh le
Italian: fidanzarsi (it)
Japanese: 婚約する (ja) (こんやくする, kon'yaku suru)
Kumyk: гелешинмек (geleşinmek)
Ottoman Turkish: نشانلانمق (nişanlanmak)
Russian: обруча́ться (ru) impf (obručátʹsja), обручи́ться (ru) pf (obručítʹsja), помо́лвиться (ru) pf (pomólvitʹsja)
Swedish: förlova sig
Turkish: nişanlanmak (tr)
Welsh: dyweddïo (cy)
Yiddish: פֿאַרקנסן (farknsn)