affiance
Americanverb (used with object)
noun
-
a pledging of faith, as a marriage contract.
-
trust; confidence; reliance.
verb
noun
Etymology
Origin of affiance
1300–50; Middle English < Middle French afiance, equivalent to afi ( er ) to pledge faith, declare on oath, betroth (< Medieval Latin affīdāre, equivalent to ad- ad- + *fīdāre, for Latin fīdere to trust; confide ) + -ance -ance
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Here is an ideal where conscience and righteousness stand in close affiance, where liberty springs from equity, and where pity never fails.
From Abraham Lincoln's Cardinal Traits; A Study in Ethics, with an Epilogue Addressed to Theologians by Beardslee, Clark S.
It is not well done for a king to affiance himself to one woman when he already has another for his wife.
From Historical Tales, Vol. 9 (of 15) The Romance of Reality. Scandinavian. by Morris, Charles
But now Liben bids farewell to the forest; he is going home that his mother may affiance and wed him to the daughter of the Pope Nicholas.
From Essays in the Study of Folk-Songs (1886) by Martinengo-Cesaresco, Countess Evelyn
Our English "affiance," "defiance," "confidence," "diffidence," retain accurate meanings; but our "faithful" has become obscure, from being used for "faithworthy," as well as "full of faith."
From Unto This Last and Other Essays on Political Economy by Ruskin, John
"In God's name," cried he, "I plight such affiance as seems most meet to thee."
From Aucassin & Nicolette And Other Mediaeval Romances and Legends by Mason, Eugene
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
