Word Of The Week – Betrothed

In our everyday language, there are certain words we hardly hear out of people’s mouths. The word Betrothed (noun) /bɪˈtrəʊð/ is one of them. I don’t mean to sound critical or anything but something about this word feels way too medieval for my liking.

A ‘betrothed’ is a loved one to whom one is formally engaged for marriage. Whenever I hear this word, I imagine a biblical lover waking up next to his or her significant other and, without even brushing his teeth, saying: “Oh thee betrothed, how thou art this fine, fine morning?” Sounds like something Joel, son of Pethuel, would say to his future wife.

The word Betrothed came into English through a combination of bi -, or “thoroughly,” and treowde, the Old English word for “truth”.

Please share this and make suggestions of similarly FUN words you may come across this season. I’d love to hear from you.

 

Bio Of Akwasi Addai

Akwasi Addai is a screenwriter, novelist and creative director. An excerpt of his novel: I Am Johnny Green, was chosen as one of the Digibook Africa top 10, you can read it at www.digibookafrica.com.

On a freelance basis, Akwasi Addai has collaborated with various film production companies and written numerous feature assignments in the Ghanaian corporate environment for companies such as Insel Communications, Power Station Ghana, Save the Girl Child Foundation and now Think Active Media. A former student of Ashesi University, he is currently the chief editor of the WeGo Innovate platform.

He is passionate about creativity and education in Ghana, and his vision is to spearhead the new wave of creative forces that are bound to put Ghana on the world stage through the portrayal of our culture.

You can like and follow Akwasi Addai on Twitter @NanaOfori_