morganatic

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The Word of the Day for October 2 is: 

morganatic   \mor-guh-NAT-ik\   adjective
     : of, relating to, or being a marriage between a member of a royal or 
noble family and a person of inferior rank in which the rank of the inferior 
partner remains unchanged and the children of the marriage do not succeed to 
the titles, fiefs, or entailed property of the parent of higher rank

Example sentence:
          The king’s son, the child of a morganatic marriage, will never rule.

Did you know?
          Although the deprivations imposed on the lower-ranking spouse by a 
morganatic marriage may seem like a royal pain in the neck, the word 
"morganatic" actually comes from a word for a marriage benefit. The New Latin 
term "morganatica" means "morning gift" and refers to a gift that a new husband 
traditionally gave to his bride on the morning after the marriage. So why was 
the New Latin phrase "matrimonium ad morganaticam," which means literally 
"marriage with morning gift," the term for a morganatic marriage? Because it 
was just that -- the wife got the morning gift, but that’s all she was entitled 
to of her husband’s possessions.





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