51�Թ�

(broadly) any of the diverse forms of interpersonal union established in various parts of the world to form a familial bond that is recognized legally, religiously, or socially, granting the participating partners mutual conjugal rights and responsibilities and including, for example, opposite-sex marriage, same-sex marriage, plural marriage, and arranged marriage:

the state, condition, or relationship of being married; wedlock.

the legal or religious ceremony that formalizes the decision of two people to live as a married couple, including the accompanying social festivities.

a relationship in which two people have pledged themselves to each other in the manner of a husband and wife, without legal sanction.

any close or intimate association or union.

a formal agreement between two companies or enterprises to combine operations, resources, etc., for mutual benefit; merger.

a blending or matching of different elements or components.

Cards.��a meld of the king and queen of a suit, as in pinochle.

a piece of antique furniture assembled from components of two or more authentic pieces.

Obsolete.��the formal declaration or contract by which act a man and a woman join in wedlock.