Word
marital
Phoneticsmar·i·tal
US/ˈmɛɹətəɫ/
UK/mˈæɹɪtəl/
Definition
adj. an old-fashioned way to describe things belonging or relating to a husband.
adj. pertaining specifically to a husband rather than both spouses. This sense is largely obsolete in modern general-service English.
Examples
“They are happy in their marital life.”
“The couple sought marital counseling to help improve their communication and resolve long-standing arguments.”
“In many jurisdictions, assets acquired during the union are considered marital property and are subject to equitable distribution upon divorce.”
Examples
simple
“They are happy in their marital life.”
contextual
“The couple sought marital counseling to help improve their communication and resolve long-standing arguments.”
complex
“In many jurisdictions, assets acquired during the union are considered marital property and are subject to equitable distribution upon divorce.”
Usage
Found almost exclusively in historical literature or legal history texts.
Teaching tip
Modern speakers use 'marital' to refer to the couple as a unit; using it to mean 'husband-only' will likely be misunderstood.
Real-World Examples
“Image caption, The Sun follows with more details of Guardiola's reported talk to his team about his marital problems in a new documentary that "lifts lid on his agony".” Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French marital, and its source, Latin marītālis, from marītus (“husband”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Collocations
Word family
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/marital