one flesh

English

Etymology

Biblical phrase, found for example in versions of Genesis 2:24 and Mark 10:8.

Pronunciation

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Noun

one flesh (uncountable)

1. (idiomatic) Two people united by marriage.
   • 1840, James Fenimore Cooper, chapter 15, in The Pathfinder:

     "This is reasonable and natural," returned Pathfinder; ". . . A woman would be likely to follow the man to whom she had plighted faith, and husband and wife are one flesh."

   • 1875, Lord Alfred Tennyson, Queen Mary: A Drama, act V:

     Mary: Have not I been the fast friend of your life
     Since mine began, and it was thought we two
     Might make one flesh, and cleave unto each other
     As man and wife?

   • 1911, John Galsworthy, “A Christian”, in Inn of Tranquility:

     We know Christ's saying of the married that they are one flesh!

Derived terms

• become one flesh