What Constitutes Marriage?

In the Merriam-Webster dictionary there are 10 different entries having to do with the word marriage. The one pertaining only to the word marriage itself is listed as the following:

Main Entry:
mar·riage
Pronunciation:
ˈmer-ij, ˈma-rij
Function:
noun
Etymology:
Middle English mariage, from Anglo-French, from marier to marry
Date:
14th century

1 a (1): the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law (2): the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage b: the mutual relation of married persons : wedlock c: the institution whereby individuals are joined in a marriage2: an act of marrying or the rite by which the married status is effected ; especially : the wedding ceremony and attendant festivities or formalities3: an intimate or close union

As you can see it is a descriptive noun which in and of itself did not even exist somewhere before the 14th century (speaking of B.C. of course) yet, people of all walks of life were coming together and forming “unions” of many kinds since the beginning of mankind. If we are to go by this definition given above, then we must assume that marriage can have many connotations when used in the English language. It can mean as stated above, that a man and woman have legally entered into a contractual relationship by law. It can be used to explain the relationship of two people who are not otherwise related but live their lives together in a marital sense, whether it be a man and a woman or two people of the same sex. It can also have many other meanings according to the last entry in the definition above.

The word marriage is often used in the arts when describing the beauty of two artistic elements coming together and forming one exquisite piece of work. We often see this kind of description used in reviews for Broadway Musicals (e.g. “The marriage between the choreography and the chemistry of the storyline was extraordinary!”). Marriage is often used by CEO’s to describe a company merger or a business partnership which has been initiated to benefit both parties for a better future. It can mean the blending together of two or more elements to make a new whole. This explanation leaves the door wide open for any union and is based on the last entry completely.