spouse

C1 Topic:Family & Relationships

US /spaʊ̯s/ See IPA manual

Freq #12547

Meanings

1

noun
A husband or wife.

You should always treat your spouse with respect.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a husband or wife. partner matebetter halfconsort

Word family

Forms spouses

Etymology

From Middle English spous, spouse, from Anglo-Norman espus m, espuse f and Old French espos m, espose f and by aphesis from Latin spōnsus m (“bridegroom”), spōnsa f (“bride”), from spondeō (“to vow, pledge”), from Proto-Indo-European *spend-. Displaced native Old English ġemaca. Related to espouse and sponsor.

spous Middle English espus xno espos Old French spōnsus Latin *spend- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Family & Relationships

External links

# spouse

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /spaʊ̯s/
**Frequency rank:** 12547

## Meanings
1. A husband or wife.

## Examples
- You should always treat your spouse with respect.

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: spous
- Root: espus
- Root: espos
- Root: spōnsus
- Root: *spend-

## Etymology
From Middle English spous, spouse, from Anglo-Norman espus m, espuse f and Old French espos m, espose f and by aphesis from Latin spōnsus m (“bridegroom”), spōnsa f (“bride”), from spondeō (“to vow, pledge”), from Proto-Indo-European *spend-. Displaced native Old English ġemaca. Related to espouse and sponsor.

## AI Etymology
Spouse comes from Middle English spous, spouse, from Anglo-Norman espus m, espuse f and Old French espos m, espose f and by aphesis from Latin spōnsus m (“bridegroom”), spōnsa f (“bride”), from spondeō (“to vow, pledge”), from Proto-Indo-European *spend-. Displaced native Old English ġemaca. Related to espouse and sponsor. The historical chain includes spous (Middle English), espus (Anglo-Norman), espos (Old French), spōnsus (Latin), and *spend- (Proto-Indo-European). In present use it covers a husband or wife.

## Topics
- Family & Relationships

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