Surely everyone at least once thought about why marriage was called marriage. At first glance, this word has nothing to do with family relationships. Therefore, it is worth digging deeper and understanding this issue.

Official version

Why is marriage called marriage? According to the official version, this word came from the Old Slavonic language. It is connected with the verb "brother", which meant marriage (to take a bride). By adding the suffix -k, the word was obtained in its modern meaning. Also, some analogies can be found in the Ukrainian language. The word "brother" means "marry".

But what about the common jokes about the meaning of the word "marriage"? Like, why was marriage called marriage, if this term means a flaw? In this context, the word has a German meaning and was introduced into the Russian language during the time of Peter I. Thus, these are two completely different marriages that are not connected in any way.

unofficial version

Why is marriage called marriage? The unofficial version sends us back to Slavic mythology. In accordance with ancient beliefs, she knew everything about the intricacies of marriage, raising children and housekeeping. This is a kind of standard of a loving and caring wife. Like all the girls who acquired such knowledge. Only they were accepted to be married.

But those girls who did not have family wisdom and knowledge were called Bride (that is, not ready for marriage). But if alliances were nevertheless concluded with them, then they were called marriages (something wrong). But this version does not claim to be scientific.

Sounds different but the meaning is the same

Why is marriage called marriage? To understand this issue, you need to study the etymology of the word and analyze its meaning in different cultures. So, we have already dealt with the Old Slavonic meaning of "marriage". In both French and Latin, this word also means "to take, to have." And now let's turn a little to the ritual of marriage itself. After all, people exchange rings and take each other's hands. Thus, in almost all cultures, "marriage" is the union of people through the clasping of hands. This is a kind of symbol of a strong union of husband and wife.

Dictionary Dahl

Why is the union of a man and a woman called marriage? An indirect answer to this question can be found in Dahl's dictionary. In it, the word "marriage" correlates with the word "brashno", which means food, food. Thus, marriage is a feast. And what goes with almost any wedding? Of course, a magnificent feast. Here's an analogy.

Modern reasoning

It's no secret that today's young people do not take the formalization of relationships as seriously as, for example, their parents, as well as grandparents. Therefore, when asked why the union is called marriage, they have their own opinion. So, many believe that love and law are incompatible things. Some even find confirmation in the Bible: "For in iniquity was he conceived ...". That is, people were not bound by any official ties.

Why is cohabitation called civil marriage?

From the point of view of modern legislation, the phrase "civil marriage" does not correlate in any way with cohabitation without formalization of official relations. In accordance with just the same, there are officially registered family relationships. But if you delve into history, it becomes clear that people use this term, denoting cohabitation, is not at all unreasonable.

The fact is that until 1918 in Russia, marriages were concluded exclusively in the church (that is, through a wedding). But representatives of some religions (sectarians or Old Believers) for religious reasons could not go through this procedure. Therefore, their relationship was formalized by recording in the register of births. It is this phenomenon, from the point of view of representatives of the church, that was called "civil marriage". Moreover, it had no legal consequences. That is, at the termination of cohabitation, the spouses could not divide the property. And in the event of the death of one of them, the second had no right to be the heir.

Why is the term "civil marriage" so widespread in modern society? Yes, simply because the word "cohabitation" has negative associations. In addition, the definition of "actual marriage" is more suitable for such relationships, but it has not taken root in society.

Types of marriage in accordance with modern legislation

When it has already become clear why marriage is called marriage, it is advisable to study the types of this phenomenon in accordance with modern legislation. So, in the Family Code and other regulatory legal acts, the following varieties are distinguished:

• Civil marriage is a relationship registered and formalized in accordance with the law and without the participation of the church. In domestic legislation, this type of marriage is the only one to which legal norms apply.
• Church marriage is a relationship formalized through weddings. In some countries, it has legal force on a par with what is registered with government agencies. Nevertheless, under domestic law, church marriage is not official and does not have any legal force. In this regard, in many churches, priests conduct a wedding only if the marriage was previously registered in the registry office.
• Actual marriage is an unregistered marriage-like relationship, which is more often called cohabitation in the legislation. Even if people run a joint household and have common children, they do not have any marital rights and obligations.
• Civil partnership (or union) - common mainly in Western countries. This is an intermediate form between cohabitation and registered marriage. Despite the fact that the relationship is not formalized, the so-called "spouses" have some rights and obligations. A feature can be considered that this form of marriage is available to same-sex couples.
• A fictitious marriage is an official registration of a marriage without the intention of the parties to create an actual family in the generally accepted sense. Usually, the motives for entering into such an alliance are obtaining citizenship or political asylum, claiming an inheritance, receiving state benefits, or any other selfish goals.

Conclusion

There has been a lot of controversy around lately. For example: why is marriage called marriage? After studying all the theories of the origin of this word, as well as getting acquainted with its meanings in other languages ​​of the world, a person gets the impression that the version associated specifically with the word "hand" is the most plausible. That is, the spouses are people who hold hands. No matter how many jokes there are around the word "marriage", it is this word that is generally accepted and appears in all legal acts.

Why is marriage called marriage?

Marriage, whatever it is
He is, in essence, a marriage!
Even if you twist it like that,
At least twist it like that. If the builder makes a mistake
And build a crooked house
Marriage is immediately obvious to everyone.
It will not be lived in later.
Why do we among the people
Call the wedding a marriage?
Marriage is something bad
Or is life wrong?
I speak frankly
I do not understand gentlemen:
A wedding is a good thing
But what about marriage then?
Very controversial marriage and wedding
Just to identify...
Maybe worth the marriage in the bride
Search casually?
After all, the bride is always in white,
She's like a white flag
Threw it away, here at the wedding,
And she surrenders herself.
And the groom, on the contrary, is in black.
Understands what's what...
After the wedding, you have to
Give him a puff...
Probably the wedding night
First, if so?
Make the bride and groom
Together, together this marriage ...
Until then, the bride is a virgin.
The night has passed and the maiden is gone.
The bride became a woman.
In this marriage, what is the secret?
Everything is logical, since the girl
Got married for the first time!
At least there is some damage...
And the meaning is clear to us.
And when the girl is married
Came out, like, for the sixth time?
You will excuse me
This is not a marriage, but hemorrhoids!
Explain for God's sake
Where then should she marry?
No matter how hard I tried,
But I couldn't understand...
Unfortunately, I didn't find an answer.
My question is simple.
Everything turned out like in life:
Wedding - marriage and ... hemorrhoids!
Vladimir Chartsev

Can a good deed be called marriage?

There is an expression that a good deed cannot be called a marriage. Usually principled bachelors say this, hinting at the fact that officially formalized relationships are defective relationships, as even their name "marriage" indicates. In fact, if we trace the origin of some words, including the word marriage, we will see that there is a certain amount of logic in such an interpretation. In ancient times, a woman who had already reached puberty and was ready to have sexual relations and give birth to children was called a vesta. And the one who is not ready for this yet, that is, still immature, was called the bride. However, there were circumstances in which people married brides. For example, if there were not enough mature women in the village, or if the young bride was dishonored and she is pregnant, and the like. Marrying a bride due to the fact that there were not enough full-fledged women was called marriage, which meant a shortage. For example, in the Ukrainian language, this root still performs this function "brakue" - it means not enough, and "marriage" in the context of "marriage of something" means a lack of something. Well, then, when centuries passed, the original meaning of the words was forgotten, and people began to attribute secondary functions to the word marriage, because all the same, marriage led to the creation of a family, and the bride later became a wife. So we now use these words "wrongly". Rather, it would be wrong if we spoke some kind of Old Slavonic dialect, but in Russian this is the correct meaning. There is an opinion that such a distortion of the language occurred when our culture was implanted with a perverted idea of ​​idealizing innocence, since now we are being implanted with depravity as a benefactor. In general, whatever the origin of this distortion, the fact remains - the saying in the title of this article, on the one hand, is true, and on the other hand, has nothing to do with the question of what is better - bachelor life or married life. In fact, the whole question is not marriage or not marriage. The most important thing is how young people will relate to a partner, to marriage and to themselves.

modern wedding bears little resemblance to the rites of the past, which secured the unification of two people into one whole - the family. But the essence remains the same - this is an event that becomes the beginning of the life of a new union, family, helps the bride and groom understand this and notifies others.

The wedding makes the couple's relationship legitimate, that is, legalized and recognized in the eyes of society. In the old days, it meant the entry of a new person - the bride into the family of her husband, but now it is the creation of a family by two people. At the same time, their parents and other relatives become related both to the son-in-law / daughter-in-law and to each other.

There are several theories regarding the origin of the word "wedding":

1. This is a derivative from the name of the ancient Roman goddess of persuasion, the patroness of festivities and fun - Svada.
2. It is formed from the verb "reduce" in the sense of uniting, uniting into one whole and symbolized the formation of a family from two separate people who were strangers to each other before.
3. It was based on the word "holy", which emphasizes the sacredness and significance of the union.
4. The word comes from the word "matchmaker" and indicates the important role of a person who acts as an intermediary between the families of the bride and groom, a witness to the agreement between them.
5. It consists of several words that are significant for the ancient Slavs - "Sva" (sky), "Bo" (gods) and "De" (deed) and denotes the heavenly (important, beyond human control) act of the gods.

What is the origin of the word "marriage"?

Finding out what is a wedding What our ancestors invested in this word and contemporaries invest in, let's turn to the concept of marriage. If a wedding means a certain ritual, actions that symbolize the creation of a legal union, then marriage is a life together that follows after the celebrations have died down. Although originally it also meant a wedding feast.

According to the official version, the word "marriage" was formed during the use of the Old Slavonic language and comes from the verb "to take" by adding the suffix -k to the root of this word. The validity of this version is evidenced by the stable expression "to marry", as well as the Ukrainian word "married" - got married.

This symbolizes the wife's entry into a new family - the husband's clan and the fact that she is taken (taken away) from her parents. Our ancestors also used the word "take" in the meaning of "steal", "abduct". And in some historical periods, this is exactly what they did with the girls - they were forcibly taken to the house of their future husband.

There is also a playful version based on the use of the word "marriage" both in the meaning of marriage and in the meaning of a flaw, a lack. In connection with this, many have heard the expression "a good deed will not be called a marriage." According to this version, in ancient times, girls ready for marriage were called Vestas, that is, those who know (know) all the wisdom of housekeeping and caring for children, prudent and wise. And if a marital union was concluded by a girl not endowed with these qualities, then she was called the Bride, and her relationship with her husband was called marriage.

In fact, the word "marriage" in the sense of a flaw is borrowed from the German language and comes from the word brack (defect, flaw) and then, in turn, from brechen (break, break). So these words are homonyms - they are the same in spelling and sound, but have different meanings. There are also theories about the origin of the word "marriage" from a similar-sounding word in Arabic, which means twinning.

Origin of the word "marriage"

Having found out, one cannot help but recall the matrimony, which means life in marriage. According to Dahl's dictionary, it is formed from the word "match", that is, combine, combine. Vladimir Dal calls the words "harness", "yoke" and "pair" close in origin and meaning. The word "yoke" does not sound very pleasant in relation to married life, it is familiar to modern people in the sense of an unpleasant, heavy burden. But after all, joint, family life, in fact, is a long work of two people to improve relationships and life.

It reveals the nature of matrimony and another word close to it - "spousal". This is a pair of horses or oxen harnessed together to work the field. Thus, marriage was understood by the Slavs as a difficult but necessary joint work of two people. Symbolically, they go through life in one team, plow the field (solve joint problems, improve life, raise children).