Surely everyone at least once thought about why marriage was called marriage. At first glance, this word is in no way associated with family relationships. Therefore, you should dig a little deeper and understand this issue.
Official version
Why was 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 (taking the bride). By adding the suffix -k, a word was obtained in its modern meaning. Also, some analogies can be found in the Ukrainian language. The word "get close" means to get married.
And what about the usual jokes about the meaning of the word "marriage"? Like, why was marriage called marriage, if the term means flaw? In this context, the word has 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 was marriage called marriage? An unofficial version sends us to Slavic mythology. In accordance with ancient beliefs, the goddess Vesta knew all about the intricacies of marriage, parenting and housekeeping. This is a standard of a loving and caring wife. This name was called all the girls who acquired such knowledge. Only it was customary to marry them.
But those girls who did not have family wisdom and knowledge were called NESVEST (that is, unprepared for marriage). But if alliances were concluded with them, they were called marriages (something wrong). But this version does not claim to be scientific.
It sounds different, but the meaning is the same
Why was marriage called marriage? To understand this issue, you need to study the etymology of the word and analyze its meaning in different cultures. So, with the Old Slavonic meaning of "marriage" we have already figured out. Both in French and in Latin, this word also means "to take, to have." Now, let's turn a little to the very ritual of marriage. After all, people exchange rings and take each other's hands. Thus, in almost all cultures, “marriage” is the unity of people through the contraction of hands. This is a kind of symbol of a strong union of husband and wife.
Dahl's Dictionary
Why is the union of men and women called marriage? An indirect answer to this question can be found in the Dahl dictionary. In it, the word "marriage" refers to the word "brushed", which means food, food. Thus, marriage is a feast. And what is accompanied by almost any wedding? Of course, a magnificent feast. Here is an analogy.
Modern reasoning
It's no secret that modern young people are not so serious about the formalization of relations, such as, for example, their parents and grandparents. Therefore, to the question of why the union is called marriage, they have their own opinion. So, many people think that love and law are incompatible things. Some even find confirmation in the Bible: "For iniquity was conceived ...". That is, people were not bound by any official ties.
Why is cohabitation called a civil marriage?
From the point of view of modern legislation, the phrase "civil marriage" does not correlate with cohabitation without formalizing formal relations. In accordance with the Family Code, this is precisely the kind of officially registered family relationship. But if you delve deeper into history, it becomes clear that people use this term to mean cohabitation, not at all without foundation.
The fact is that until 1918 in Russia, marriages were concluded exclusively in the church (that is, through weddings). But representatives of certain faiths (sectarians or Old Believers) for religious reasons could not go through this procedure. Therefore, their relationship was formalized by writing in a metric book. It is this phenomenon, from the point of view of representatives of the church, called the "civil marriage". Moreover, it had no legal consequences. That is, upon termination of cohabitation, the couple could not share property. And in the event of the death of one of them, the second did not have the right to be an heir.
Why is the term "civil marriage" so widespread in modern society? Yes, simply because the word "cohabitation" has negative associations. Moreover, 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 became 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 distinguish the following varieties:
- Civil marriage - relations registered and executed in accordance with the law and without the participation of the church. In domestic law, this type of marriage is the only one to which legal norms apply.
- Church marriage - a relationship formed through a religious wedding ceremony. In some countries, it has legal force on a par with the fact that it is registered with state bodies. Nevertheless, 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 relationship, which in the legislation is more often called cohabitation. Even if people have a joint household and have common children, they do not have any marriage rights and obligations.
- Civil partnership (or union) is a practice that is prevalent mainly in Western countries. This is an intermediate form between cohabitation and registered marriage. Despite the fact that the relationship is not formally 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.
- Fictitious marriage is the official registration of marriage without the intention of the parties to create an actual family in the generally accepted sense. Typically, the motives for concluding such an alliance are citizenship or political asylum, a claim for inheritance, receipt of state benefits or any other selfish purposes.
Conclusion
There have been many disputes around family relationships lately. For example: why is marriage called marriage? After studying all theories of the origin of a given word, as well as acquainting oneself with its meanings in other languages of the world, one gets the impression that the most plausible version is associated with the word “hand”. That is, those who marry are people who hold hands. No matter how many jokes there are around the word “marriage,” it is generally accepted and appears in all legal acts.