morganatic
/mɔɹɡəˈnætɪk/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.34 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
4
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Designating a marriage (or the wife involved) between a man of higher rank and a woman of lower rank, often having various legal repercussions (typically that such a wife has no claim on the husband's possessions or title). It was not an aspect of English law, but was common in other royal houses, especially in Germany.
Example Sentences
- "Francis Ferdinand's marriage was a morganatic alliance, and in consequence of a declaration which he made when contracting it, his children do not inherit his rights to the Austrian crown."
- "we have this day repudiated our former spouse and have bestowed our royal hand upon the princess Selene, the splendour of the night. (The former morganatic spouse of Bloom is hastily removed in the Black Maria.)"
- "Because of her noble birth, she bitterly resented her position as a morganatic wife."
- "Louis's association with the pious widow, Madame de Maintenon (with whom he contracted a morganatic marriage in 1684) had led to a new tone of piety, even prudery, at court."
- "This will not be a morganatic marriage—one where titles are not passed to any children—the prince and Mrs Parker Bowles being beyond the usual age of procreation and so unlikely to have new heirs to complicate matters."
- "After her death, he arranged a morganatic marriage with Anna in 1757, which made him even more vulnerable to charges of sexual impropriety."
Etymology
From New Latin morganāticus, from the Medieval Latin phrase mātrimōnium ad morganāticum, from Proto-Germanic *murgnagebō (“morning gift”) (whence Old English morgenġiefu).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: morganāticus, -, *murgnagebō
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /mɔɹɡəˈnætɪk/
- British English: /mɔːɡəˈnætɪk/