Table of Contents
Definition of Common-law Marriage
(noun) Legally, a marriage established by the duration of cohabitation, not a civil or religious ceremony.
Examples of Common-law Marriage
Common-law Marriage Pronunciation
Syllabification: com·mon law mar·riage
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /kAHm-uhn-law mAIR-ij/
- British English – /kom-uhn-lAW mAr-ij/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˈkɑmən-lɑ ˈmɛrɪʤ/
- British English – /ˈkɒmən-lɔː ˈmærɪʤ/
Usage Notes
- Plural: common-law marriages
- The legal requirements for a common-law marriage vary by location.
- A type of affinity and cohabitation.
- Variant spelling: common law marriage
- Also called:
- common-law (common law)
- informal marriage
- marriage by habit and repute
- marriage in fact
- sui juris marriage
Additional Information
- Family and Kinship Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Politics and Policy Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “common-law” and “marriage” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Terms
Cite the Definition of Common-law Marriage
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “common-law marriage.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 24, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/common-law-marriage/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
common-law marriage. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/common-law-marriage/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “common-law marriage.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/common-law-marriage/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“common-law marriage.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 24 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/common-law-marriage/>.