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wedlock

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born out of wedlock

born to an unmarried mother. The child was born out of wedlock. In the city many children are born out of wedlock.

See also: born, of, out, wedlock

out of wedlock

Of parents not legally married, as in Over the centuries many royal children were born out of wedlock. The noun wedlock, for the state of being married, is rarely heard today except in this phrase, first recorded in 1675; its converse, in wedlock, dates from the 1300s and is even more rarely used.

See also: of, out, wedlock

out of wedlock

Of parents not legally married to each other: born out of wedlock.

See also: of, out, wedlock