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Glite Dictionary
💍 A wedding ritual 💍 To marry
handfasting

handfasting

9.9
A traditional ceremony where two people join hands to promise to marry each other
  • noun
  • /ˈhændˌfæstɪŋ/
  • Archaic
translation icon : ceremonia de unión
  • At their handfasting ceremony, the couple joined hands, symbolizing their commitment to one another.

Examples

  • She excitedly prepared for her handfasting, a ritual that marked the beginning of their union.

  • Now I wouldn't make a handfasting cake, or a cake for a polygamous wedding, or a child marriage, or a forced marriage, or a homosexual marriage.

    Blog text (23)

  • One of the first they show me is the "handfasting stone" where Mik and Emma will be wed after their "year and a day" betrothal period.

    Academic text (2003)

  • The handfasting took place under a beautiful oak tree, honoring their promise to marry each other.

Synonyms

wedding
vshandfasting
∞ 1.0

A ceremony and celebration where two people get married

is more specifically a traditional act of joining hands as commitment
marriage
vshandfasting
99 2.4

A close joining of two things that work well together

is a specific historic ritual showing a pledge rather than the general union
matrimony
vshandfasting
  • Formal
24 5.3

A formal ceremony when two people become married

is a traditional, possibly nonreligious hand joining ritual
wedding ceremony
vshandfasting
14 1.1

A formal event where two people promise to marry and exchange vows

is a historic ritual focused on hand binding rather than vows
marriage ceremony
vshandfasting
6 2.3

A formal event where two people promise to be partners

is a traditional ritual using hand joining to symbolize a pledge
handfast
vshandfasting
  • Archaic
9.9

An old ceremony where two people promise to marry by joining hands

is a traditional ritual that ties or joins hands to show a pledge

Surface Forms

handfasting singular
handfastings plural

Morphology

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

The compound 'hand' + 'fast' gives a reasonably clear idea of 'binding or joining hands', but the construction is archaic and the sense of 'fast' as 'bound/firm' may not be obvious to all learners.

Etymology

Handfasting comes from old English parts hand and fast, where fast meant 'firm' or 'fixed'. So a handfasting is a ceremony where two people join or tie their hands to make a firm promise and show they are joined.