spouseless
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; (noun) Middle English < Old French spous (masculine), spouse (feminine) (aphetic for espous, espouse) < Latin spōnsus, spōnsa literally, pledged (man, woman) (noun uses of past participle of spondēre to pledge), equivalent to spond- verb stem + -tus, -ta past participle suffix; (v.) Middle English spousen < Old French esp(o)user; cf. espouse
1150–1200; (noun) Middle English < Old French spous (masculine), spouse (feminine) (aphetic for espous, espouse) < Latin spōnsus, spōnsa literally, pledged (man, woman) (noun uses of past participle of spondēre to pledge), equivalent to spond- verb stem + -tus, -ta past participle suffix; (v.) Middle English spousen < Old French esp(o)user; cf. espouse
Related forms
spouse·hood, noun
spouse·less, adjective
un·spoused, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To spouseless
00:10
Spouseless
is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
| spouse | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a person's partner in marriageRelated: spousal |
| —vb | |
| 2. | obsolete (tr) to marry |
| Related: spousal | |
| [C12: from Old French spus (masculine), spuse (feminine), from Latin sponsus, sponsa betrothed man or woman, from spondēre to promise solemnly] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
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 (early 13c.) was an old name for "adultery."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Easton
Bible Dictionary
Spouse definition
(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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Nearby Words
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