spouse
- 01 B1 Intermediate
n.the person you are married to; your husband or wife.
n.a person's partner in marriage or a legally recognised union. The term is gender-neutral and frequently appears in legal and official documentation.
Simple“The company allows employees to bring a spouse or partner to the holiday party.”
In context“Under current immigration law, a spouse of a permanent resident may be eligible for a visa after a specific waiting period.”
UsageCommonly used in formal writing and legal forms where 'husband' or 'wife' might be too specific.
Teacher's tipWhile common in documents, people usually say 'my husband', 'my wife', or 'my partner' in casual conversation.
- 02 C2 Proficiency
v.to get married to someone.
v.to marry or wed a person. This verbal use is largely obsolete in modern prose and is typically replaced by 'marry' or 'espouse'.
Simple“In the old story, the knight sought to spouse the princess.”
In context“The ancient chronicles describe how the king sought to spouse the daughter of his rival to secure a lasting peace treaty.”
Teacher's tipThis verbal form is extremely rare; students will likely only encounter it in historical literature or poetry.
“Shared beliefs and values may matter more when people think about spouses, relatives or close friends than when they think about neighbors, colleagues or strangers online.”
“One spouse among the 200 or so family members said that her husband had texted her that day saying “he hopes he doesn’t wake up tomorrow”.”
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.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.