English → Latin
“betroth” in Latin
dēspondeōto promise (to give), pledge, devote to; to promise in marriage, betroth, engage; to put away from oneself, give up, yiespōnsusa groom; a fiancé
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
betroth
spondere alicui aliquam, despondere alicui aliquam (despondere is used also of the father of the man, Terentianus, And., i., 1, 75). To betroth one’s self, sponsalia facere: to a woman, despondere sibi aliquam. To be betrothed to a man, alicui desponderi. She was already betrothed to the youth, jam destinata erat juveni. A man betrothed, desponsus (desponsatus is post-classical in Suet., and rare), sponsus. A (woman) betrothed to a man, sponsa, desponsa alicui. The parties betrothed, sponsi. To whom Lavinia was betrothed, cui Lavinia pacta fuerat. To betroth a person to anybody, despondere aliquem alicui.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for betroth?
- The usual Latin words for “betroth” are dēspondeō, spōnsus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.