[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

handfast \hand"fast`\, v. t. imp.  p. p. handfasted; p. pr.
    vb. n. handfasting.
   1. to pledge; to bind. obs.
      1913 webster

   2. to betroth by joining hands, in order to permit
      cohabitation, before the formal celebration of marriage;
      in some parts of scotland it was in effect to marry
      provisionally, permitting cohabitation for a year, after
      which the marriage could be formalized or dissolved.
      obs.
      1913 webster +pjc

   note: handfasting was a simple contract of agreement under
         which cohabitation was permitted for a year, at the end
         of which time the contract could be either dissolved or
         made permanent by a formal marriage. such marriages, at
         first probably not intended to be temporary, are
         supposed to have originated in scotland from a scarcity
         of clergy, and to have existed at times in other
         countries.
         century dict. 1906.
see also:
handfasted handfasting 

Handfasting >> H Words
Handfasting, definition of term: Handfasting
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