AFFIANCE

betroth, engage, affiance, plight

(verb) give to in marriage

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Verb

affiance (third-person singular simple present affiances, present participle affiancing, simple past and past participle affianced)

(transitive) To be betrothed to; to promise to marry.

Noun

affiance (plural affiances)

Faith, trust.

(archaic) A solemn engagement, especially a pledge of marriage.

Source: Wiktionary


Af*fi"ance, n. Etym: [OE. afiaunce trust, confidence, OF. afiance, fr. afier to trust, fr. LL. affidare to trust; ad + fidare to trust, fr. L. fides faith. See Faith, and cf. Affidavit, Affy, Confidence.]

1. Plighted faith; marriage contract or promise.

2. Trust; reliance; faith; confidence. Such feelings promptly yielded to his habitual affiance in the divine love. Sir J. Stephen. Lancelot, my Lancelot, thou in whom I have Most joy and most affiance. Tennyson.

Af*fi"ance, v. t. [imp. Affianced; p. pr. Affiancing.] Etym: [Cf. OF. afiancier, fr. afiance.]

1. To betroth; to pledge one's faith to for marriage, or solemnly promise (one's self or another) in marriage. To me, sad maid, he was affianced. Spenser.

2. To assure by promise. [Obs.] Pope.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

31 January 2025

DISPERSION

(noun) the act of dispersing or diffusing something; “the dispersion of the troops”; “the diffusion of knowledge”


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Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, on 25 September 2016, the Birla Institute of Management Technology (India) in Uttar Pradesh, India, constructed the largest coffee cups pyramid consisting of 23,821 cups. They used paper takeaway coffee cups to build the pyramid.

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