2567: fiance & betrothed Dec 23, 2021

Of descriptive titles for a person who is engaged, the most common include 'fiancé(e)' and 'betrothed'. Both of these, in fact have the same etymological basis even though they are from different languages. 'Fiancé(e)' is from French, though originally the root is with the Latin 'fidere' (related to 'fides') meaning 'to trust', or as a noun 'truth'. This is the same root as the English 'fidelity' as well as 'fealty' and 'fiat', which also connect the idea of 'trust' to agreements. 'Betroth' (or indeed 'troth') is from an old and now out-of-use form of 'truth', with 'troth' also having another sense of 'agreement' or 'pledge'. Unlike 'betroth/ed', English did not also take the verbal form of 'fiancé(e)' from French, which is 'fiancer', and so must use another word 'engaged'.