marriageable

[ mar-i-juh-buhl ]

adjective

1. suitable or attractive for marriage:

   The handsome and successful young man was considered eminently marriageable.

2. of an age suitable for marriage:

   a marriageable daughter.

marriageable

/ ˈmærɪdʒəbəl /

adjective

1. (esp of women) suitable for marriage, usually with reference to age

Derived Forms

• ˌmarriageaˈbility, noun

Other Words From

• marriage·a·bili·ty marriage·a·ble·ness noun
• nonmar·riage·a·bili·ty noun
• non·marriage·a·ble adjective
• un·marriage·a·ble adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of marriageable¹

First recorded in 1545–55; marriage + -able

Example Sentences

Hale lectures Ernest that the only way he will be successful in this town is if he builds a connection to the Osage people — specifically the single, marriageable Osage women.

From Salon

Mauritania was once notorious for the custom of brutally force-feeding young girls to make them more marriageable — a practice referred to as gavage, taken from the French term for force-feeding geese to produce foie gras.

From New York Times

In India, the legal marriageable age is 21 for men and 18 for women.

From Seattle Times

As I entered my marriageable years, I was introduced to suitable men from Lima, Peru; Tenerife in the Canary Islands; Paramaribo, Suriname; and Accra, Ghana.

From Los Angeles Times

In freewheeling of California, New York, Florida, and 16 other states, the person with whom you share a set of grandparents is completely fair marriageable game.

From Salon