THE FIRST WORD

benedict

PRONUNCIATION:

(BEN-i-dikt) 

MEANING:

noun: A newly married man, especially one who was previously thought to be a confirmed bachelor.

ETYMOLOGY:

From alteration of Benedick, character in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Earliest documented use: 1821.

USAGE:

"Columbus Moise, the old bachelor lawyer, who is soon to be a benedict, answered the toast."
Miguel Antonio Otero; My Life on the Frontier, 1882-1897; 1935.