# Wedding



## Maroseika

What idea is used in your language to express wedding? I mean exactly the ceremony of wedding, not marriage as institute, even though in some languages one word may used for both.
Here is what I have got (corrections are welcome):


*English*
Wedding < wed - pledge, covenant

*Dutch*
huwelijk - musical playing in the owner's house
bruiloft - gallop with the stolen bride
Also *Norsk *bryllup and *Swedish *bröllop 

*Ossetyan*
чындзæхсæв - bride's night

*Russian* (and most of other Slavic)
свадьба < сватовство - matchmaking (сват < *svo-/*sve- - alien)

*Ukrainian* весілля, *Belorussian *вяселле, *Polish* wesele
- meriment

*Czeck*
oddavky - handing over

*Chinese*
喜事 [xǐshì] - happy event

*Spanish* nupcias, *Portugal *núpcias, *Italian *nozze, *French *noces
< Latin nupta < nubere "take as a husband," related to νυμφα - bride.

*Finnish*
häät - connected with expulsion [of the bride]?

*Turkic*
düğün - connected with düğüm - binding or dü (?) + gün - day?


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## Orlin

Maroseika said:


> *Russian* (and most of other Slavic)
> свадьба < сватовство - matchmaking (сват < *svo-/*sve- - alien)


Bulgarian=Russian: сватба < сватовство.


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## bibax

Czech:

svatba (most common), oddavky, veselka;


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## Alxmrphi

In* Icelandic* it is *brúðkaup*, which consists of brúð(ur), bride and kaup, trade/purchase.
I can assure you it's not seen in this way in the language, just the composition of its etymological roots.


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## Maroseika

Alxmrphi said:


> In* Icelandic* it is *brúðkaup*, which consists of brúð(ur), bride and kaup, trade/purchase.
> I can assure you it's not seen in this way in the language, just the composition of its etymological roots.


Well, it's not seen now and since long ago, but I'm sure it was in the past, or otherwise why such an etymology?
And to know this archaic point of view is the aim of my questioning.


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## apmoy70

In Greek:
«Γάμος» ('ɣamos _m._) from the Classical masculine noun «γάμος» ('gāmŏs)--> _wedding, marriage, wedlock_ from the Classical verb «γαμέω/γαμῶ» (gă'mĕō [uncontracted]/gā'mō [contracted])--> lit. _to give oneself in marriage, wed_ metaph. _to take for lover/mistress, to have sexual intercourse_, with obscure etymology. In Modern Greek when we say «γαμώ» or «γαμάω» (ɣa'mo [contracted]/ɣa'mao [uncontracted]) we mean _to f*ck_.


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## ThomasK

Maroseika said:


> *English*
> Wedding < wed - pledge, covenant
> 
> *Dutch*
> huwelijk - musical playing in the owner's house
> bruiloft - gallop with the stolen bride


This is a nice topic - offering a bit of cultural background/ history, it seems to me. 

I was surprised to read about Dutch, but it is not quite wrong ! 
- _*huwelijk*_ is supposed to refer to the party, the 'game', with running around and dancing, jumping (the main idea being the latter, so it seems)
- _*bruiloft*_ does refer to the bride running - but probably from demonic forces, I read, or maybe the bride being 'fetched' (no *elopement*, which does seem to refer to the running away). 

As for English: _*wed*_ could also refer to some kind of guarantee, but that is close to what you suggest. Also add _elopement_, I think.


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## Rallino

Turkish,

evlenmek = to get married

ev - home 
len - obtaining suffix
mek-infinitive.

evlenmek = obtaining a home.

When you get married, you have a new home.


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## Maroseika

Rallino said:


> Turkish,
> 
> evlenmek = to get married


This is about marriage. And what's about wedding? The same word is used?


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## ThomasK

In some cases _wedding_ in Dutch is also referred to as _*trouw*_ (also the word for loyalty, being faithful to someone), or _*trouwpartij*,_ the former common in Flanders, the other in the Netherlands.


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## Black4blue

Maroseika said:


> This is about marriage. And what's about wedding? The same word is used?


 
No. *Wedding=Düğün* Like you said.
I think Rallino misread.


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## Rallino

Maroseika said:


> This is about marriage. And what's about wedding? The same word is used?





> No. *Wedding=Düğün* Like you said.
> I think Rallino misread.



Oh boy, I completely forgot that wedding and marriage are separate terms. Sorry =)


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## Outsider

Maroseika said:


> *Spanish* nupcias, *Portugal *núpcias, *Italian *nozze, *French *noces
> < Latin nupta < nubere "take as a husband," related to νυμφα - bride.


As far as Portuguese is concerned, *núpcias* is used infrequently, and a bit high-register/literary. It is related to the more colloquial words *noivo* (groom), *noiva* (bride) and *noivado* (betrothal).

The most common words for wedding are *matrimónio* (< L. *matrimonium* < *mater*, mother) and *casamento* (< *casar*, to marry < *casa*, house < L. *casa*, hut, shack). Since the formal masculine equivalent of *matrimónio* is *património* (< L. *patrimonium*, estate, patrimony < *pater*, father), there may be here a distant connection with the notion of trade/purchase.

Another synonym is *boda/bodas* (< L. *vota*, vows; sing. *votum*, vow). For instance, _Le nozze de Figaro_ is normally translated as _As Bodas de Fígaro_. As a matter of fact, if you wish to distinguish wedding from marriage this is probably the most accurate choice. However, it's also a somewhat uncommon/literary word.


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## Montesacro

Outsider said:


> As far as Portuguese is concerned, *núpcias* is used infrequently, and a bit high-register/literary.



The Italian _nozze_ is instead the more frequently used word for a nuptial ceremony, along with _matrimonio_ (the latter of course means "marriage" as well).

Other less common words:
- _(lo) sposalizio_ (_sposo_ = bridegroom, _sposa_ = bride),
- _(gli) sponsali_ (this one very formal).

_Sposo, sposa_, come from Latin _sponsus, sponsa_, i.e. the past participle of _spondere_ (to promise, to give pledge)


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## Havfruen

Maroseika said:


> *Norsk *bryllup and *Swedish *bröllop



Danish is like Norwegian, bryllup

According to the Danish dictionary, this comes from the Old Norse brúðhlaup meaning bridal procession / parade or following.

Interesting these differ from Icelandic.


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## ThomasK

Well, that is at least a different interpretation. But what is the difference with regard to Icelandic precisely?


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## Havfruen

I don't know either Icelandic or Old Norse, but my comment was on the difference between  *brúðkaup*


Alxmrphi said:


> In* Icelandic* it is *brúðkaup*, which consists of brúð(ur), bride and kaup, trade/purchase.
> I can assure you it's not seen in this way in the language, just the composition of its etymological roots.



and brúðhlaup, the Old Norse root of the Danish/Norwegian/Swedish bryllup/bryllup/bröllop. 

The first part brúð is the same in both, meaning bride. But the difference between the second part kaup (trade) - Icelandic and hlaup (procession) - Old Norse is of interest. I hope someone who knows Icelandic and/or Old Norse will come along.


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## bibax

The word *kaup* is obviously related to German _kaufen_ and to Slavic _kupiti_ (to purchase), all from Latin _caupo_ (trader, merchant). The English cognate is _cheap_.


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## ThomasK

Maybe there is a link with [the whole issue of] _*bruidschat *_ (lit. bride treasure), dowry, which can be considered part of the 'trade' a marriage is sometimes considered to be, though it is not supposed to be part of a 'buy-off' or something like that, when I checked the Wikipedia page...


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## Alxmrphi

Havfruen said:


> but my comment was on the difference between  brúðkaup and brúðhlaup.
> 
> [..]
> 
> But the difference between the second part kaup (trade) - Icelandic and* hlaup (procession) - Old Norse* is of interest. I hope someone who knows Icelandic and/or Old Norse will come along.



Are you sure you're not thinking of* brúðlaup* (without the )?
This means 'wedding' in Icelandic and makes sense as a link down from Old Norse. *Hlaup* means '*run/race*' so doesn't really seem to fit.

Either way, for the difference between  brúðkaup and brúðlaup maybe it's best to ask in Nordic Languages.


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## Havfruen

Alxmrphi said:


> Are you sure you're not thinking of* brúðlaup* (without the )?
> This means 'wedding' in Icelandic and makes sense as a link down from Old Norse. *Hlaup* means '*run/race*' so doesn't really seem to fit.




I agree that would fit together nicely.

Then both *brúðlaup and **brúðkaup* are used synonymously in modern Icelandic?

I got *brúðhlaup* here, so unless there's an error in the dictionary, I have to believe it's correct.


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## Nizo

The Esperanto word for the wedding ceremony is _*nupto*_ (from Latin _nuptiae_ "wedding," from nupta, fem. pp. of _nubere_ "take as a husband").


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## nach_in

In spanish we also use the words "casamiento", "casorio" or "boda"


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## ThomasK

Would you be able to comment on the origin of those words, Nach In? I guess one refers to 'house", or even the first two...


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## Duvelly

In Hungarian wedding is _esküvő_.
It comes from _eskü_, which means oath or vow.


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## jana.bo99

Slovenian: Poroka

Kroatian: Svadba (or: Vjenčanje)

German: Hochzeit (or: Heirat)


B.


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## ThomasK

Where _Hochzeit_, high-time, just refers to the importance of the event, I think. But how about the others ?


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## nach_in

ThomasK said:


> Would you be able to comment on the origin of those words, Nach In? I guess one refers to 'house", or even the first two...



I'll try, I haven't found the etymology for "casamiento" and "casorio" but as you said it comes from "casa" (house) and basically it means to get a house or to get in a house, wich is what married people does. That's the best I found, sorry 

about "boda" it comes from the latin "vota" (vows) according to wictionary.

I hope it's enough, I'll try to find out better the root of "casamiento" and "casorio"


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## ThomasK

"Boda" and vows:  not improbable at least, thanks! But "poroka", "svatba", Jana ?


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## Orlin

ThomasK said:


> "Boda" and vows: not improbable at least, thanks! But "poroka", "svatba", Jana ?


For "svadba" I think the etymology is the same as in Bulgarian and Russian (see above).


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## sakvaka

In *Finnish*, we call the celebration _häät_ (pl. t.): _Pekan häät__ olivat__ menestys, olin eilen veljeni häissä_.

Here's an entire article by Jorma Koivulehto devoted to the word's etymology (in Finnish, some German at the end). According to him it must be a borrowing, and there are speculations of the origin being Middle Low German _höge_ m./f. This word has a wide range of meanings:



> 1. (_primary_) mind, memory
> 2. (_metaphorically_)  "happiness, joy, high vibes" (erhörte Stimmung, Fröhlichkeit, Gemütlichkeit)
> 3. (_concrete_) "a merry feast, celebration; wedding" (fröchliches Fest, Festessen, Hoffest, bes. öffentliche Festlichkeit einer Gemeinschaft, des Rates, der Geistlichkeit, einer Gilde usw.; Hochzeitsfeier"



Source: http://www.kotikielenseura.fi/virittaja/hakemistot/jutut/2002_4_490.pdf

To conclude, this is just a suggestion for the etymology. The origin is yet to be discovered.


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## jana.bo99

@ThomasK,

I am not good with Etymology. 

Here is only explanation about POROKA:

ROKA means: the hand.

POROKA means: give in the hands (of somebody)

Svadba or Svatba: I can't find it.

B.


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## Lars H

Havfruen said:


> Then both *brúðlaup and **brúðkaup* are used synonymously in modern Icelandic?



We have both words in Swedish as well, as "brudköp" (Da. brudekøb) means the financial aspect of the marriage between the two families (obviously abandoned  a long time ago) and "bröllop" (brud-löp) means the wedding ceremony as such. 

The latter part of the word - although it's related to "leap" - in this context would mean something of a "formal procession". But the word could perhaps be reflecting older traditions of robbing wifes. Source Elof Hellquist.


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## Tennis

Vietnamese: đám cưới - a ceremony of a marriage


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