💍 A wedding ritual 💍 To marry

to handfasting

9.9

To join hands in a traditional ceremony to promise to marry each other

verb

Archaic

: prometerse

During the festival, many couples handfasted under the ancient oak.

Examples

They decided to handfast before planning a formal wedding ceremony.
In some cultures, to handfast is a meaningful way to show commitment.
During the festival, the couple chose to handfast in front of their closest friends.
They decided to handfast in a beautiful ceremony.
During the festival, the couple chose to handfast in front of their closest friends.
They decided to handfast before planning a formal wedding ceremony.
In some cultures, to handfast is a meaningful way to show commitment.

Synonyms

to betroth

vsto handfasting

Archaic

11 9.6

To promise two people will marry each other in the future

is a pledge focusing on joining hands and a specific ceremony

to handfast

vsto handfasting

Archaic

9.9

To promise to marry in a simple old ceremony

is a pledge made by joining hands in a traditional ceremony

Surface Forms

handfasting infinitive

handfasted past

handfasted past participle

handfasting present participle

handfasts third person singular

Morphology

handfasting = handfast (semi-transparent) = hand + fast + ing

Derived from the verb 'handfast' with the standard '-ing' form; the basic idea 'joining/hands + secure' is recoverable but the verb is uncommon.

Etymology

Handfast comes from old English parts hand and fast, with fast meaning 'firm' or 'fixed'. So to handfast someone is to join hands as a firm promise to marry or to show commitment.