handfasting

handfasting
handfast hand"fast`, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {handfasted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {handfasting}.] 1. To pledge; to bind. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

2. To betroth by joining hands, in order to permit cohabitation, before the formal celebration of marriage; in some parts of Scotland it was in effect to marry provisionally, permitting cohabitation for a year, after which the marriage could be formalized or dissolved. [Obs.] [1913 Webster +PJC]

Note: Handfasting was a simple contract of agreement under which cohabitation was permitted for a year, at the end of which time the contract could be either dissolved or made permanent by a formal marriage. Such marriages, at first probably not intended to be temporary, are supposed to have originated in Scotland from a scarcity of clergy, and to have existed at times in other countries. [Century Dict. 1906.]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Handfasting — am Steinkreis von Avebury Der Begriff Handfasting bezeichnet eine neuheidnische Hochzeitszeremonie, umganssprachlich werden auch die Begriffe „Hexenhochzeit“, „Heidenhochzeit“ oder Wiccahochzeit gebraucht. Inhaltsverzeichnis …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • handfasting — [hand′fas΄tiŋ] n. 〚OE handfæstunge: see HANDFAST〛 Archaic 1. a betrothal 2. a form of irregular or trial marriage confirmed by a joining of hands * * * …   Universalium

  • handfasting — [hand′fas΄tiŋ] n. [OE handfæstunge: see HANDFAST] Archaic 1. a betrothal 2. a form of irregular or trial marriage confirmed by a joining of hands …   English World dictionary

  • Handfasting — An example of a handfasting knot where each wedding guest has tied a ribbon around the clasped hands of the couple. Handfasting is a traditional European ceremony of (temporary or permanent) betrothal or wedding. It usually involved the tying or… …   Wikipedia

  • handfasting — noun The ceremony in which people handfast …   Wiktionary

  • handfasting — A kind of trial marriage which prevailed anciently in parts of Scotland, referred to in The Monastery by Sir Walter Scott, Chapter XXV. See trial marriage …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • handfasting — noun ( s) 1. archaic : betrothal 2. : an irregular or probationary marriage contracted by joining hands and agreeing to live together as man and wife; also : the living together under such an agreement …   Useful english dictionary

  • Rites de passages de la Wicca — La Wicca met un gros accent sur les rites de passage au cours de la vie d un individu. C est la seule religion à observer les rites de passage en y mettant un profond symbolisme qui incarne les voies à travers lesquelles un individu approfondit… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Rites de passages de la wicca — série Wicca Traditions Xandrianisme Gardnérianisme …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Rites de passages païens (Wicca) — Rites de passages de la Wicca série Wicca Traditions Xandrianisme Gardnérianisme …   Wikipédia en Français

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