mariage (French)
Where does "mariage" come from?
The French word 'mariage' evolved from the Latin verb 'marītāre', which originally meant to provide someone with a husband. In Old French, it combined the verb 'marier' with the suffix '-age', a descendant of the Latin '-āticum' used to denote the result of an action. Over time, the term transitioned from describing the specific act of joining a couple to representing the broader legal and social union of marriage.
Full etymology tree
- mariage (French), 'marriage'
- compound marier (French), 'to wed, to marry'
- inherited marier (Middle French), 'to marry'
- inherited marier (Old French), 'to marry'
- inherited marītāre (Latin), 'inflection of marītō:'
- derived marītus (Latin), 'marital, matrimonial, conjugal'
- suffix *mārī- (Proto-Italic)
- inherited *morih₂- (Proto-Indo-European)
- suffix *-to- (Proto-Indo-European)
- suffix *mārī- (Proto-Italic)
- derived marītus (Latin), 'marital, matrimonial, conjugal'
- inherited marītāre (Latin), 'inflection of marītō:'
- inherited marier (Old French), 'to marry'
- inherited marier (Middle French), 'to marry'
- compound -age (French), 'Forming nouns with the sense of "action or result of Xing" or, more rarely, "action related to X".'
- inherited -age (Middle French), 'forms nouns with the sense of "action or result of Xing" or, more rarely, "action related to X"'
- inherited -age (Old French), 'forms nouns with the sense of 'action or result of''
- inherited -āticum (Latin), 'Used to form nouns indicating pertinence to the root verb or noun.'
- derived -āticus (Latin), 'Used to form adjectives indicating a relation to the root noun or actions related to it.'
- suffix -ātus (Latin), '-ed. Used to form adjectives from nouns indicating the possession of a thing or feature.'
- suffix -icus (Latin), 'of or pertaining to; belonging to; derived from; connected with: -ic, -ish'
- derived -āticus (Latin), 'Used to form adjectives indicating a relation to the root noun or actions related to it.'
- inherited -āticum (Latin), 'Used to form nouns indicating pertinence to the root verb or noun.'
- inherited -age (Old French), 'forms nouns with the sense of 'action or result of''
- inherited -age (Middle French), 'forms nouns with the sense of "action or result of Xing" or, more rarely, "action related to X"'
- compound marier (French), 'to wed, to marry'
Ancestors
- marier (French)
- -age (French)
Descendants and derived words
- donner en mariage (French)
- mariage arrangé (French)
- mariage blanc (French)
- mariage civil (French)
- mariage de convenance (French)
- mariage homosexuel (French)
- mariage religieux (French)
- mariage républicain (French)
- maryaz (Mauritian Creole)
- mariaż (Polish)
- mariaj (Romanian)
- maryaz (Seychellois Creole)
Updated May 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris