Definition of Matrimony

Matrimony is a joining. It unites spouses in the task of begetting and rearing children, and it dedicates them to one common life.

Matrimony, as a word, derives from mater which means mother, and, perhaps, from munus which means duty. Matrimony is sometimes called nuptials; this word comes from nubere which means to veil, for it was an ancient custom to veil the heads of spouses. Matrimonyconstitutes a man and wife as a conjugal society, and this word comes from conjugium which means a pining, or a yoking.

Peter the Lombard describes matrimony as “the marital union of a man and a woman, which involves their living together in undivided partnership.”