wedlock
/ˈwɛd.lɒk/noun
wedlock is spelled W-E-D-L-O-C-K: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,504th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, wedlock means “The state of being married” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of wedlock is wedlocks.
How many letters and syllables are in wedlock?
| Letters | 7: W-E-D-L-O-C-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,504th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is wedlock?
Wedlock appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,504th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce wedlock?
- UK /ˈwɛd.lɒk/
- UK /ˈwɛd.lɑk/
Wedlock has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-wedlock.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of wedlock
- wedlocks plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does wedlock mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The state of being married.
- 2
obsoleteA wife; a married woman.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does wedlock come from?
From Middle English wedlok, wedlocke (“wedlock, marriage, matrimony”), from Old English wedlāc (“marriage vow, pledge, plighted troth, wedlock”). By surface analysis, wed + -lock.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).