ENGLISH
REFERENCE

marital

adj.
US //ˈmɛɹətəɫ// UK //mˈæɹɪtəl// mar·i·tal
  1. 1 relating to a husband (adj.)
    C2 Proficiency Archaic

    an old-fashioned way to describe things belonging or relating to a husband.

    pertaining specifically to a husband rather than both spouses. This sense is largely obsolete in modern general-service English.

    Example

    In the old story, the king exercised his marital authority over the palace.

    Example

    The historical text discusses the evolution of marital rights and the traditional legal dominance of the husband in the nineteenth century.

    Usage

    Found almost exclusively in historical literature or legal history texts.

    Teacher's tip

    Modern speakers use 'marital' to refer to the couple as a unit; using it to mean 'husband-only' will likely be misunderstood.

Origin

Borrowed from Middle French marital, and its source, Latin marītālis, from marītus (“husband”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Word family

Last updated June 20, 2026