morganatic

[Low Latin morganatic a, from Ger. morgen =morning, an abbreviation from M. H. German morgengabe =morning-gift, the gift which, according to the old usage, a husband used to make to his wife on the morning after the mar riage-night.) A term used with reference to a mat rimonial alliance between a man of royal blood (or in Germany of high nobility) and a woman of inferior rank. Such marriages are also called Left handed Marriages, from the fact that in the marriage ceremony the left hand is given instead of the right. The children of such a marriage are legit i mate, but do not inherit the rank or po e ions of their father.