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spouse

 - 4 dictionary results

spouse

  [n. spous, spouz; v. spouz, spous] noun, verb, spoused, spous⋅ing.
Use spouse in a Sentence
–noun
1. either member of a married pair in relation to the other; one's husband or wife.
–verb (used with object)
2. Obsolete. to join, give, or take in marriage.
Origin:
1150–1200; (n.) ME < OF spous (masc.), spouse (fem.) (aph. for espous, espouse) < L spōnsus, spōnsa lit., pledged (man, woman) (n. uses of ptp. of spondēre to pledge), equiv. to spond- verb s. + -tus, -ta ptp. suffix; (v.) ME spousen < OF esp(o)user; cf. espouse

Related forms:
spousehood, noun
spouseless, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To spouse
spouse   (spous, spouz)   
n.  A marriage partner; a husband or wife.
tr.v.   (spouz, spous) spoused, spous·ing, spous·es Archaic
To marry; wed.

[Middle English, from Old French spous, from Latin spōnsus, from past participle of spondēre, to pledge; see spend- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

spouse 
c.1200, "a married woman in relation to her husband" (also of men), from O.Fr. spus (fem. spuse), from L. sponsus "bridegroom" (fem. sponsa "bride"), from masc. and fem. pp. of spondere "to bind oneself, promise solemnly," from PIE *spend- "to make an offering, perform a rite" (see spondee). Spouse-breach (c.1225) was an old name for "adultery."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Bible Dictionary

Spouse

(Cant. 4:8-12; Hos. 4:13, 14) may denote either husband or wife, but in the Scriptures it denotes only the latter.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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