A marriage arranged or made in opposition to another marriage, often for political or strategic reasons, or historical term for a second marriage after widowhood.
From 'counter-' (against or opposite) plus 'marriage' (from Old French 'mariage', from Latin 'maritare', to marry). Rare historical term used in diplomatic contexts.
Royal courts used countermarriages strategically—if one power married their child to an enemy, they'd arrange a countermarriage to strengthen their own side. It's like romantic chess between kingdoms!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.