2011-01-17, 05:06 PM
Wikipedia Wrote:Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found. Such a union, often formalized via a wedding ceremony, may also be called matrimony.
People marry for many reasons, including one or more of the following: legal, social, emotional, economical, spiritual, and religious. These might include arranged marriages, family obligations, the legal establishment of a nuclear family unit, the legal protection of children and public declaration of commitment.[1][2] The act of marriage usually creates normative or legal obligations between the individuals involved. In some societies these obligations also extend to certain family members of the married persons. In cultures that allow the dissolution of a marriage this is known as divorce.
Marriage is usually recognized by the state, a religious authority, or both. It is often viewed as a contract. Civil marriage is the legal concept of marriage as a governmental institution irrespective of religious affiliation, in accordance with marriage laws of the jurisdiction. If recognized by the state, by the religion(s) to which the parties belong or by society in general, the act of marriage changes the personal and social status of the individuals who enter into it.
Dictionary Wrote:1.a.the social institution under which a man and woman establish their decision to live as husband and wife by legal commitments, religious ceremonies, etc.
b.a similar institution involving partners of the same gender: gay marriage.
2.the state, condition, or relationship of being married; wedlock: a happy marriage.
3.the legal or religious ceremony that formalizes the decision of two people to live as a married couple, including the accompanying social festivities: to officiate at a marriage.
4.a relationship in which two people have pledged themselves to each other in the manner of a husband and wife, without legal sanction: trial marriage.
5.any close or intimate association or union: the marriage of words and music in a hit song.
6.a formal agreement between two companies or enterprises to combine operations, resources, etc., for mutual benefit; merger.
7.a blending or matching of different elements or components: The new lipstick is a beautiful marriage of fragrance and texture.
8.Cards. a meld of the king and queen of a suit, as in pinochle.Compare royal marriage.
9.a piece of antique furniture assembled from components of two or more authentic pieces.
10.Obsolete. the formal declaration or contract by which act a man and a woman join in wedlock.