Defining Marriage.

Wow. It was just pointed out by tahnan on the NPL mailing list that the definition of marriage has changed in the new edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Since I don't expect the readers of this journal to have two copies on hand for comparison (as the readers of that list likely do), here are the relevant texts:

From Merriam-Webster's Tenth Edition [link removed, 10th ed. is no longer online, 10/26/10]:

mar riage 1 a : the state of being married b : the mutual relation of husband and wife : WEDLOCK c : the institution whereby men and women are joined in a special kind of social and legal dependence for the purpose of founding and maintaining a family

And the Eleventh Edition [link changed, 10/26/10]:

mar riage 1 a (1) : the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law (2) : the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage {same-sex marriage} b : the mutual relation of married persons : WEDLOCK c : the institution whereby individuals are joined in a marriage

And everyone wonders why I tell them to have an up-to-date dictionary.