The word "honeymoon" first appeared in
English in the 1500s. The first citation of the word appeared in a 1552 glossary printed in England, called Abcedarium Anglico Latinum.
"Honeymoon" is derived from the ancient Germanic custom of having newly-weds drink mead (the 'drink of love') for a whole
moon (month) in order to encourage fertility, and a
male child in particular.
The
history of mead has roots in royalty, religion,
sex, and violence throughout the ages of time and cultures of the world. Mead is almost certainly the oldest
alcoholic beverage known to man and likely discovered before the wheel was invented.
Mead has for centuries been renowned as an aphrodisiac, and mead's
real claim to fame is in its origins in wedding celebrations, hence the word "honeymoon."
Mead was traditionally
drunk during the month-long celebrations following weddings to insure fertility and the birth of sons. Some customs sent the bride to bed and then filled the bridegroom with mead until he could no longer stand. He was then delivered to the bride's bedside to sire a son that very night. If, per chance, the bride did, in fact, bear a son nine months later, the maker of the mead was complimented on its quality.
Jason: How was your honeymoon,
Jack?
Jack: Super! Drank lots of honey and made passionate love to Jill for a full month. She is now pregnant with our first baby boy.
