out of wedlock

out(side) of wedlock

Without being married to the other person in question. I know my grandparents raised their eyebrows when my girlfriend and I had our son out of wedlock, but they've never been rude about it. Back in my day, it was pretty unheard of to even live with someone outside of wedlock.
See also: of, wedlock
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

out of wedlock

Of parents not legally married, as in Over the centuries many royal children were born out of wedlock. The noun wedlock, for the state of being married, is rarely heard today except in this phrase, first recorded in 1675; its converse, in wedlock, dates from the 1300s and is even more rarely used.
See also: of, out, wedlock
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

out of wedlock

Of parents not legally married to each other: born out of wedlock.
See also: of, out, wedlock
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
See also:
  • out(side) of wedlock
  • raised
  • wedlock
  • born out of wedlock
  • raise (one's) eyebrows
  • raise eyebrows
  • raise your eyebrows
  • on the wrong side of the blanket
  • girlfriend
  • cause
References in periodicals archive
I contend that the North Carolina statute violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which "prohibits a state from granting rights to one class of citizens that are denied to another class of citizens." (137) "The definition of discrimination can be reduced to the idea that one person can have something [that] another person cannot have, and the only difference between the two is a specific characteristic." (138) Children born in wedlock have an automatic right to inheritance from their paternal relatives; children born out of wedlock do not.
Nozawa also noted the need to revamp the current Civil Code which discriminates between children born out of wedlock and those born to married couples in terms of the inheritance they receive.
The ratio of number of children born out of wedlock to number of siblings age 13 and above was as follows: fathers (M = .72; SD = .87), mothers (M = .47; SD = .63).
The result: Soon, half of all American children will be born out of wedlock and reared in government-run day-care centers.
Having a child out of wedlock often means a lifetime in poverty.
On mental health, Ms Charity Kennedy of Botswana Network for Mental Health said challenges affecting children born out of wedlock deprived them of their human rights.
He said in recent court papers that the trust "would not benefit any person born out of wedlock unless that person had lived for a substantial period of time as a regular member of the household".
The Court of Appeal, in a written judgment released on July 25, last year held that a Muslim child conceived out of wedlock could bear his or her father's surname instead of 'Abdullah'.
The actor-model reached out to those who were born out of wedlock in a Twitter post on Sunday, June 10.
The proportion of babies born out of wedlock has increased more than eightfold in Cyprus since 2000, from 2.3 per cent to 19.1 per cent in 2016, Eurostat data published on Monday show.
A businesswoman in Sokoto, Rabiat Mustapha, 30, has been remanded in prison custody over alleged murder of her baby born out of wedlock.
It is illegal in the UAE to have sex out of wedlock and unmarried women who have a baby in the country are immediately reported to the police - although the woman did claim she and the Palestinian were married according to customs in her country.
Investigations revealed that the infant was born out of wedlock.
A woman accused of getting pregnant out of wedlock claims she was raped, Abu Dhabi Court was told
The agent of Lebanese singer Amal Hijazi sent a press release in response to shocking news over a number of internet websites about Amal's support for having children out of wedlock.