spousen.
/spaʊs/, /spaʊz/, U.S. /spaʊs/, /spaʊz/ I. A married person, and related senses.† 3. A person to whom one is betrothed; a fiancé or fiancée. Obsolete.Not always clearly distinguishable from sense 1.
1.
a. A husband or wife, or (in later use) a person joined to another in a comparable legally recognized union, considered in relation to his or her partner. Used mainly with possessives or followed by of (or, in earlier use, to). Also: (in the context of a wedding or imminent marriage) a bride or groom.The term was used exclusively with reference to marriage (latterly sometimes including common-law marriage) until the later 20th century, when other forms of union or partnership (including same-sex partnership and same-sex marriage) began to be widely discussed.After the non-specific use of the term (see sense 1a(c)) became established, uses of the term to refer to a partner of one specific gender became increasingly likely to be understood in the non-specific sense.In early use spellings distinguishing masculine and feminine referents are occasionally found: see e.g. quot. a1200 at sense 2a(a). The use of spose in quot. 1604 at sense 1a(b) apparently represents a late attempt to make the same distinction. Cf. also spousess n.
(a) Used of a woman. Now only as a contextual use of sense 1a(c) (see note at sense 1a).
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > married person > [noun] > spouse, consort, or partner
ferec975
matchOE
makec1175
spousea1200
lemanc1275
fellowc1350
likea1393
wed-ferea1400
partyc1443
espouse?c1450
bedfellow1490
yokefellow?1542
espousal1543
spouse1548
mate1549
marrow1554
paragon1557
yokemate1567
partner1577
better halfa1586
twin1592
moiety1611
copemate1631
consort1634
half-marrow1637
matrimonya1640
helpmeet1661
other half1667
helpmate1715
spousie1735
life companion1763
worse half1783
life partner1809
domestic partner1815
ball and chain1921
lover1969
a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 135 Elizabet þi spuse shal hauen a cnauechild.
c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) 1527 Þar fore þe were gulte Þat leof is over wummon to pulte..An haueþ at tom his riȝte spuse.
a1350 (c1250) Prov. Hendyng (Harl.) l. 129 in K. Böddeker Altengl. Dichtungen (1878) 293 (MED) Ȝef þou art an old mon, Tac þou þe no ȝong wommon Forte be þi spouse.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. vi. xiii. 309 In a goode spouse and wif nediþ..þat sche be..meke and seruisable to here housbonde.
c1425 (c1400) Laud Troy-bk. l. 1742 (MED) Thelaman..nold her not to his spouse tan.
c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) l. 2677 Þare fand he..þe trew spouse Of ser Dary.
?1533–4 R. Saltwood Compar. bytwene iiij. Byrdes sig. B.iiv Putyfers spouses fayre Ioseph clapped In pryson.
1567 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure II. xxx. f. 374 I minde to take Angelica to my wife and lawful spouse.
c1614 W. Mure tr. Virgil Dido & Æneas i. in Wks. (1898) I. 200 I,..Jove's spowse, and sister, heaven's arch-empresse great.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) iv. vi. 68 So qualified, as may beseeme The Spouse of any noble Gentleman. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 169 The fishie fume, That drove him, though enamourd, from the Spouse Of Tobits Son. View more context for this quotation
1711 S. Sewall Diary 1 Feb. (1973) II. 652 He thanks me for my Respect to him and to his Spouse.
1782 W. Cowper Hist. John Gilpin in Public Advertiser 14 Nov. John Gilpin's Spouse said to her Dear, Though wedded we have been These twice ten tedious Years, yet we No Holiday have seen.
1832 Ld. Tennyson Dream Fair Women xlviii, in Poems (new ed.) 134 A name for ever!—lying robed and crowned, Worthy a Roman spouse.
1870 W. C. Bryant tr. Homer Iliad I. i. 30 Thou wilt find the task Too hard for thee, although thou be my spouse.
1901 W. T. Washburn Deuce of Hearts vi. 83 When relatives wished to contest a will made in a wife's favor, Morty figured as the prior wife; when a millionaire died unmarried, she unveiled herself as a common-law spouse.
1915 Woodburn (Indiana) News 15 Sept. 8/3 A son was born to Victor and his royal spouse, Princess Clementine of Belgium.
1990 P. Roth Deception 78 She isn't just a miserable spouse, she's naturally vicious.
2008 Guardian (Nexis) 26 July 14 Successful spouse and mother, anticipator of all needs before her own.
(b) Used of a man. Now only as a contextual use of sense 1a(c) (see note at sense 1a).Cf. earlier use with a male referent in the figurative sense 2a(a).
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > wedding or nuptials > people connected with wedding > [noun] > bridegroom
bridegroomOE
spouse?a1300
bridec1390
grooma1616
bridesman1623
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > married person > married man > [noun] > husband
churla800
lordeOE
werec893
husbanda1275
mana1325
masterc1325
sovereign1390
maritea1398
husbandman?a1439
goodman?1507
baron1595
spouse1604
husband of one's bosom1611
old man1673
hubby1682
sposo1741
hub1809
master-man1825
pot and pan1900
mister1931
DH1993
?a1300 Dame Sirith l. 91 in G. H. McKnight Middle Eng. Humorous Tales (1913) 5 Ich habe mi louerd, þat is mi spouse, Þat maiden broute me to house... He loueþ me and ich him wel.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iii. l. 658 This wif..sih how that hire seli spouse Was sett.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 10170 To samirtale widuten strijf, Be-tuix any spouse and his wijf.
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) II. f. ccxix At whiche Mariage was no persones present But the Spowse, the Spowsesse,..duches ye prest, two Gentylwomen, and a young man to helpe the prest synge.
1564–5 Reg. Privy Council Scotl. I. 327 George Kennedie, hir pretendit spous.
1597 J. Payne Royall Exchange 43 So gloriouse and Princely a spowze to take..so poore and meane an espowzes.
1604 T. Wright Passions of Minde (new ed.) i. vii. 29 The Spose sayd vnto his Spouse,..Thou hast wounded my heart with one of thine eyes.
?1638 E. Ford Merry Disc. i. xi A woman that is mighty tall, And yet her Spouse a little squall.
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 308. ⁋1 Whether she has not been frightened or sweetned by her Spouse into the Act she is going to do, or whether it is of her own free Will.
1771 T. Smollett Humphry Clinker II. 166 To fill the place of the deceased, not only as the son of the sachem, but as the spouse of a beautiful squaw.
1782 W. Cowper Mutual Forbearance in Poems 1 The lady thus address'd her spouse.
1844 N. P. Willis Lady Jane i. 82 Ours Are the best wives on earth. They love their spouses.
1879 Harlequin Prince Cherrytop 16 Lest her young spouse neglect her, as he will do.
1948 Life 6 Sept. 6/2 In actual marriage woman is discontented and has the feeling that she is too good for her spouse.
1972 P. Laslett Househ. & Family in Past Time 22 The daughter, not the son, brings her working class spouse into the family circle.
2001 H. Hutner Colonial Women 10 She later married Ninigret's son Quinnipin, and her sister became the spouse of King Philip.
(c) Used as a general term to refer to a person of either gender.The earliest unambiguous examples are of the plural.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > married person > [noun] > spouse, consort, or partner
ferec975
matchOE
makec1175
spousea1200
lemanc1275
fellowc1350
likea1393
wed-ferea1400
partyc1443
espouse?c1450
bedfellow1490
yokefellow?1542
espousal1543
spouse1548
mate1549
marrow1554
paragon1557
yokemate1567
partner1577
better halfa1586
twin1592
moiety1611
copemate1631
consort1634
half-marrow1637
matrimonya1640
helpmeet1661
other half1667
helpmate1715
spousie1735
life companion1763
worse half1783
life partner1809
domestic partner1815
ball and chain1921
lover1969
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VII f. liiiv The kynge and the quene with the new wedded spouses went from Baynardes castell by water to Westmynster.
1573 in Abstr. Protocols Town Clerks of Glasgow (1898) VII. 23 Johne Steyne, burges of Glasgw, and Beatrix Stark, spoussis.
1662 A. Petrie Compend. Hist. Catholick Church 388 If a married person fall into heresie, the other spouse may marry another.
1663 J. D. tr. H. de Péréfixe de Beaumont Hist. Henry IV i. 44 Neither the one nor the other of the two Spouses were over-well content. Margaret..believed to be in Guyenne was a kind of banishment: and Henry..would rather have chose her room then her company.
1710 E. Ward Nuptial Dialogues & Deb. I. viii. 103 When Love's wanting in a marry'd State, Curs'd are both Spouses, tho' their Wealth be great.
1761 tr. Frederician Code I. i. ii. 132 If they be in a rented house, and if it be not thought convenient to leave them in the same house, that one of the spouses who gave occasion for the separation, shall be obliged to go out of it.
1833 in Statute Law Cape of Good Hope (1862) 293 The administration by the survivor of two spouses during the minority of the children of the predeceased spouse.
1906 W. G. Sumner Folkways x. 405 There are many relief representations of late Roman marriages on which Juno appears as pronuba, a figure of her standing behind the spouses as protectress or patroness.
1950 Act 14 Geo. VI c. 26 § 1(1) An adoption order may be made on the application of two spouses authorising them jointly to adopt an infant.
1982 United Press Internat. Newswire (Nexis) 21 Dec. The debate [in San Francisco] over extending official recognition and city employee benefits to unmarried spouses, both gay and straight.
1991 Internat. Jrnl. Law & Family 5 311 There is a growing tendency to support the position that, after divorce, each former spouse..has a duty to provide for his or her own support.
2013 Wall St. Jrnl. 29 June b10/6 They want to know if the earning spouse can provide for the nonearning spouse without having to pay tax.
b. Used as a form of address. Now somewhat rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > married person > married woman > [noun] > wife > as term of address
spousec1405
mother1855
c1405 (c1380) G. Chaucer Second Nun's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 144 O swete and wel biloued spouse deere..Ther is a conseil Which that right fayn I wolde vn to yow seye.
1447 O. Bokenham Lives of Saints (Arun.) (1938) l. 1972 Þus she gan crye: 'Welkecome, dere spouse, & god gramercy!'
?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 83 (MED) Herke now, Anne, my jentyl spowse, how þat þe buschop his lawe hath tolde.
a1556 N. Udall Ralph Roister Doister (?1566) v. ii. sig. H.iiv Truly most deare spouse, nought was done but for pastance.
1575 R. B. Apius & Virginia sig. A.4 Oh wife, oh spouse, I am contente.
1647 C. Harvey Schola Cordis Epigr. xxvii Mine heart's a field; Thy crosse a plow; be pleas'd Dear Spouse, to till it, till the mould be rais'd Fit for the seeding of Thy Word.
1657 A. Trapnel Lively Voice for King Saints Nations sig. A3 What injuries and smites, O spouse my love.
1707 G. Farquhar Beaux Stratagem v. 70 They tell me Spouse that you had like to have been rob'd. Mrs. Sull. Truly, Spouse, I was pretty near it.
1759 C. Lennox tr. P. Brumoy Greek Theatre II. 38 Oh spouse of Electra, my loved sister, how dear is thy presence to me!
1821 P. B. Shelley Epipsychidion 12 Spouse! Sister! Angel..O too soon adored, by me!
1916 W. B. Nichols Song of Sharruk 44 Hearken how deep into despair, Dear Spirit, dear spouse, I am fallen.
1996 New Straits Times (Malaysia) (Nexis) 15 Dec. 24 I fear, dear spouse, That a wandering louse, Has invaded your under-arm region.
2. figurative.
a.
(a) Used of God or Christ in relation to the Church or to Christian souls, or to members of a female religious order.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > [noun] > as lover or spouse
spousea1200
lotebyc1330
paramoura1400
lover1574
a1200 (?OE) MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 149 Swiche teares wiep þe holie spuse uppen hire spus.
a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 131 (MED) Criste..is riht spus ta alchere gode saule.
a1300 (c1275) Physiologus (1991) l. 525 He is ure soule spuse.
c1400 Apocalypse St. John: B Version (Harl. 171) (1971) 3 Þe greete goodis þat hooly chirche..schulde resseyue in þat oþir lijf, whanne sche schulde be ioyned to Crist, hir spouse in blisse.
c1480 (a1400) St. Pelagia 102 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 207 We, þat suld god plese maste, oure verray spouse.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection ii. xxiii. f. lxxxviiiv Let the swete odour of deuocion and prayer spyre out and ascende vp to thy lorde and spouse.
1596 T. Lodge Prosopopeia sig. B6v I will put on the roabes of dissolution to mourne for thee as my spouse.
1657 T. Aylesbury Treat. Confession of Sinne vii. 117 That the Church would not have made so bold..without express warranty from her Spouse?
1737 R. Challoner Catholick Christian Instructed xxi. 207 Because the Church is then in Mourning for her Spouse.
1771 C. Walmesley Gen. Hist. Christian Church iii. 64 She [sc. the Christian Church] is clothed with the Sun, as shining with..the glory of her Spouse Jesus Christ.
1894 R. T. Smith Church in France xi. 233 Jesus Christ, the indefectible Spouse of the Church, cannot repudiate His bride.
1902 A. R. Bennett-Gladstone tr. A. Tesnière Adoration of Blessed Sacrament 143 Mortal sin..is the adultery of the soul towards Jesus its Spouse.
2004 C. M. Waters Angels & Earthly Creatures v. 111 She [sc. Katherine of Alexandria] ends by reaffirming..her devotion to Christ as her spouse.
(b) The Church, or a person (esp. a member of a female religious order) or soul, regarded as being symbolically married to God or Christ.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > aspects of faith > religion > a religion or church > [noun]
churcheOE
kirkc1175
spousea1200
lawa1225
lorea1225
religionc1325
faithc1384
sectc1386
seta1387
leara1400
hirselc1480
professiona1513
congregation1526
communion1553
schism1555
segregation1563
sex1583
hortus conclususa1631
confessiona1641
dispensation1643
sectary1651
churchship1675
cult1679
persuasion1732
denomination1746–7
connection1753
covenant1818
sectarism1821
organized religion1843
society > faith > church government > monasticism > nun > [noun]
nuneOE
sistereOE
minchenOE
nun-sisterOE
spousea1200
ladyc1275
religious1340
clergess1393
homely womana1400
monialc1400
moinesa1513
sanctimoniala1513
vowess1533
nosegent1567
votaress1589
votress1597
monkess1602
White Lady1606
cloistressa1616
sanctimony1630
religiosea1657
clergywoman1673
religieuse1682
religioso1708
vestal1717
a1200 (?OE) MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 149 Swiche teares wiep þe holie spuse uppen hire spus.
c1225 (?c1200) Hali Meiðhad (Bodl.) (1940) 42 Swuch wurðsjchipe as hit is to beo godes spuse, ihesu cristes brude.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 1 Lauerd seið godes spuse to hire deore wurðe spus [etc.].
c1300 St. Edward Elder (Laud) 194 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 52 Go..to þe Abbesse of þe house, Dame Aldred þat clene Maide, þat is godes spouse.
c1300 St. John Evangelist (Laud) l. 473 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 416 Holie churche, þine clene spouse, þoruȝ me þe hath bi-ȝite.
c1350 Apocalypse St. John: A Version (Harl. 874) (1961) 162 Þe spouse of þe lombe bitokeneþ holy chirche.
a1425 (?c1384) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 339 (MED) Cristis Chirche is his Spouse, that haþ þree partis.
a1500 (?a1450) Gesta Romanorum (Harl. 7333) (1879) 13 Ony sowle, þe which is spouse of god.
1531 tr. E. Fox et al. Determinations Moste Famous Vniuersities iv. f. 90v If god by scripture be well called spouse of mannes soule, & the soule ageyn the spouse of god.
a1550 in R. Dyboski Songs, Carols & Other Misc. Poems (1908) 69 The chirche is callid þe spowse of Jhesu Criste.
1553 J. Brooks Serm. Notable Paules Crosse sig. C.iiiv She [sc. the church] is thonly spouse of christ, so dereli beloued of him, that he calleth her..my derelyng, my beutifull, my doue.
1570 B. Googe tr. T. Kirchmeyer Popish Kingdome iv. f. 51v How are the Idoles worshipped, if this religion here Be Catholike, and like the spowes of Christ accounted dere?
c1610–15 Life Holie Walburge in C. Horstmann Lives Women Saints (1886) 83 Their no lesse religious sister Walburge, a moste chaste spouse of Christ.
1641 G. Wither Halelviah i. 83 Thy God, is now thy Father dear; His holy Spouse, thy Mother too.
1678 tr. P. Lalemant Holy Desires of Death 16 Our Souls are the Spouses of Christ Jesus, and during the state of this mortal life, this Divine Bridegroom is separated from his Spouses.
a1700 in Catholic Rec. Soc. Publ. (1911) 9 343 God..had perticularly designed her for his especiall Elected and Beloved spowse.
1756 A. Butler Lives Saints I. 427 She looked upon it as the greatest honour to be in any thing the servant of the spouses of Christ.
a1785 J. W. Fletcher Posthumous Pieces (1791) 284 The Church, the Spouse of the Son of God.
1812 G. Crabbe Tales iv. 72 Heav'n's spouse thou art not.
1827 R. Pollok Course of Time I. v. 242 The Church, the holy spouse of God.
1886 J. Monahan Rec. Ardagh & Clonmacnoise 2 That youthful spouse of Christ [i.e. St. Bridget].
1935 Amer. Mercury Feb. 180/1 The priests and seminarists..are content to have these ‘spouses of Christ’ as housemaids cleaning their boots and emptying their slops.
1974 J. Thomas Years Grief & Laughter iv. 109 Priests, nuns, monks, are ‘spouses’ of Christ in a mystical sense.
2001 Irish Times 11 May 15/4 The Catholic Church is the spotless spouse of Christ. To suggest or say it ‘sinned’ is blasphemy.
b. In more general figurative use.
ΚΠ
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1965) Wisd. viii. 2 I soȝte to taken it [sc. Wisdom] a spouse [?a1425 L.V. spousse] to me: & loouere I am maad of þe forme of it.
?a1425 tr. Catherine of Siena Orcherd of Syon (Harl.) (1966) 388 (MED) Ȝeuynge to hem þat entren to þe same religioun verry & holy pouert..which..he [sc. St. Francis] took also for his owne spouse.
a1500 (a1450) tr. Secreta Secret. (Ashm. 396) (1977) 56 (MED) The erth..is as a faire spouse and a full specious damysell..clad with many-fold coloures that she may appere to me in the day of hir mariage.
1575 tr. H. Seuse Certayne sweete Prayers sig. C.viv This wisedome I haue loued, and sought for her, since my youth I haue sought how I might enioy her as my spouse.
1627 R. Senhouse 4 Serm. 32 Truth the spouse of the understanding.
1673 J. Horn Divine Wooer vii. 247 I must prove thee [sc. the Soul], And humble as my spouse because I love thee.
1734 tr. C. Rollin Method teaching & studying Belles Lettres II. 365 The pomp and profusion with which the sun begins his course..as the spouse whom heaven and earth await.
1826 Lancet 25 Nov. 263/1 I have taken unto me a new spouse, to be the comfort of my old age, and the angel's name is—Truth.
1912 L. Lawton Empires of Far East I. v. 64 China has done her share of civilisation. She is the real spouse of culture in Eastern lands.
2004 D. Mitchell Cloud Atlas (U.K. ed.) 353 ‘If Seoul is a Boardman's faithful spouse,’ said Hae-Joo, ‘Pusan is his no-pantied mistress.’
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > betrothal > [noun] > betrothed person
spousec1300
espouse?c1450
espoused1554
betrothed1557
intended1767
future1827
affianced1828
prétendu1847
c1300 St. Lucy (Laud) l. 53 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 102 (MED) Ne soffre þou nouȝt mine spouse in folie mi Maiden-hod a-spille.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. vi. xiii. 308 Tofore þe weddinge þe spouse [L. sponsus] fondiþ to winne þe loue of hise spouse.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 10844 (MED) Ioseph..had a mayde wiþ him in house þat hiȝt marie & was his spouse [c1460 Laud spowce].
c1508 Lyf St. Ursula (de Worde) sig. A.viii The rurall rebelles aspyed her with her spouse.
a1556 N. Udall Ralph Roister Doister (?1566) i. v. sig. C.ijv I am bespoken: And I thought verily thys had bene some token From my dere spouse Gawin Goodluck.
a1673 T. Horton 100 Select Serm. (1679) xlviii. 447/2 In a Wife the wedding-day is past, and in a simple Spouse, the wedding-day is not come.
4. The married state; marriage, wedlock. Cf. spousal n. 1b. Obsolete (although cf., for example, spousebreach n.1 1, spouse-breaking n.).
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > [noun]
bridelockOE
yokeOE
spousehooda1200
spousea1225
wedlock?c1225
wedlockhoodc1230
marriagec1300
spousal1340
matrimonya1382
espousala1393
muliera1400
spousagea1400
spouseheadc1400
weddedhooda1450
wedhooda1450
wedding1489
espousage1549
the bond(s of wedlock or matrimony1552
nuptial1566
bed-match1582
bob-tail1585
Hymen's banda1593
Hymen1608
married life1609
conjugality1645
marriage state1652
conjugacy1659
marriage life1662
establishment1684
shackledom1771
connubiality1836
connubialism1848
weddedness1891
bedlock1922
the tender trap1954
a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 129 (MED) Wið-uten clannesse oððer rihte spuse nan mann ne mai ben ȝeborȝen.
c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) 1334 Þu..me at wist Þat ich singe bi manne huse An teache wif breke spuse.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 10 (MED) Þe grantinge to habbe uelaȝrede ulesslich mid wyfmen þet ne is naȝt his be spouse ys zenne dyadlich.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 3043 Þof ysmael be noght o spus O him sal gret men cum and crus.
c1450 (c1350) Alexander & Dindimus (Bodl.) (1929) l. 393 Alle leccheries lust vs loþeth to founde, Or to bringe vs in brigge for to breke spouce.
Phrases
to spouse: as a spouse, for a spouse, so as to be one's spouse (literal and figurative). Esp. in to take to spouse. Now rare (chiefly archaic in later use). [Compare Anglo-Norman a espus, Middle French a espoux (first half of the 13th cent. or earlier in Anglo-Norman, end of the 14th cent. or earlier in continental French; French à époux), Middle French a espouse (first half of the 14th cent.; French à épouse).]
ΚΠ
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 79 Swich cheoseð Iesu crist to leofmon & to spuse.
c1300 (?c1225) King Horn (Cambr.) (1901) l. 995 Heo schal to spuse haue Aþulf mi gode felaȝe.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 8386 Will i wat þat þou me hight Ar þou to spouse me trouth plight.
c1400 Brut (Rawl. B. 171) 144 (MED) He wolde grant him forto haue his doughter to spouse.
?a1518 H. Watson Ualentyne & Orson (1555) iii. sig. C.i You haue taken her to spouse.
1562 A. Brooke tr. M. Bandello Tragicall Hist. Romeus & Iuliet f. 57v His conscience..condems it for a sinne, To let her take Paris to spouse.
?1600 Holy Chvrches Complaint sig. A2 This heauenly bridegroome on the Roode His Church to Spouse did take.
1621 W. Slatyer Hist. Great Britanie ii. iv. 43 Here sometimes reign'd, Osyris, first Aegyptian King, call'd Saturne erst Or Ancient Ioue;..Who had to spouse, Iö faire Greeke.
1846 E. Robinson Cæsar Borgia I. ix. 111 The bull..which dissolved the marriage of King Louis with his cousin..and gave him the buxom widow of Brittany to spouse.
1888 J. Hunter-Duvar De Roberval ii. 58 A young widow, who had lost her brave, Took him to spouse.
1923 B. G. Guerney tr. A. Kuprin Sulamith v. 64 Constrained by her parents she durst not..tell him of her pact, and took him to spouse.
1964 Princeton Alumni Weekly 11 Feb. 26/2 On Dec. 21, Clay Cook took to spouse the former Jane C. Melius.
Compounds
C1. attributive. In early use frequently in sense 4, as spouse-bed, spouse-faith, spouse-feast, etc. (cf. marriage n. Compounds 1a; see also spousebreach n.1, spousebreach n.2). Later only with reference to a person.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > wedding or nuptials > marriage vows or bonds > [noun] > vow > (promise of) conjugal fidelity
spouse-faith1502
marriage covenant1555
marriage faith1586
the world > food and drink > food > meal > feast > [noun] > wedding feast
marriage feast?1533
marriage dinner1552
bride-banquet1600
spouse-feast1601
marriage table1603
bridal dinnera1616
wedding-dinner1633
wedding-feast1633
wedding-supper1695
wedding-table1722
breakfast1847
wedding breakfast1850
wedding-banquet1855
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > wedding or nuptials > wedding festivities > [noun] > feast
bride ale1526
marriage feast?1533
bride-banquet1600
spouse-feast1601
wedding-feast1633
wedding-banquet1855
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > [noun] > conjugal relations > rights and duties
bedc1175
wedlock-debt1422
marriage bed1567
marriage duty1567
spouse-bed1605
marriage joya1616
1502 Acts Lords of Council Civil Causes XII. f. 83v Restore..til the sadis Elizabeth..ane spous kyst the price [13 s. 4 d.] ane spous coffer [etc.].
1550 M. Coverdale tr. O. Werdmueller Spyrytuall & Precyouse Pearle vii. sig. Dv Those..matrones, whiche beynge sore tempted,..do neuerthelesse kepe theyr spows faythe towarde theyr husbands vndefyled.
1601 A. Munday Downfall Earle of Huntington sig. C3v To this end came I to the mock-spouse feast.
1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. i. vii. 249 Let her that..Dares spot the Spouse-bed with vnlawfull kisses, Blush.
1659 E. Howet Beast 30 Jesus Christ in his Visitation of His Spouse, cometh perfumed unto His Spouse-Bed.
a1770 T. Chatterton Compl. Wks. (1971) I. 188 Comme, gentle love, wee wylle toe spouse-feaste goe.
1927 Kingsport (Tennessee) Times 11 Aug. 4/2 If they cut the movie salaries drastically enough spouse murder and divorce will be much more rare in Hollywood.
1966 N. A. Chance Eskimo N. Alaska iv. 49 Partners in spouse exchange called each other aiparik , ‘the second’.
1987 Stock & Land (Melbourne) 2 July 6/4 The family allowance and the spouse rebate are not social security handouts.
2001 Times 5 Dec. ii. 8/3 Battersby wonders..whether the spouse exemption will remain, as live-in-lovers do not enjoy this tax break.
C2. Objective, limitative, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > widow or widower > [adjective]
widowed1597
spouse1615
1615 R. Brathwait Loves Labyrinth 82 in Strappado Like spouse-lost Turtles, do we flocke together.
1833 E. B. Barrett tr. Æschylus Prometheus Bound in Prometheus & Misc. Poems 56 Beholding later Io's spouse-hating virgin state.
1856 J. Szeredy Asiatic Chiefs I. 436 What could his beauty, his wit, and his persuasive eloquence avail against the spouse-loving wife of a Magyar?
1933 Chicago Defender 10 June 3/5 (headline) Percy Richardson in court as alleged spouse beater.
1996 Daily Express 1 Mar. 14/2 Marry in haste, repent at a user-friendly machine with an electronic lawyer inside who can now do you a good, clean, official spouse-shedding in only 20 minutes.
2008 Wall St. Jrnl. 27 May d3/2 So-called ‘snoopware’..was originally sold in Asia as a spouse-monitoring tool.
Derivatives
ˈspousely adj. belonging to a befitting a spouse; characteristic of or relating to a spouse.
ΚΠ
1837 Southern Literary Messenger Oct. 588/2 The neighboring gossips averred that she was too fond of that spousely privilege of scolding, to be a Quaker.
1938 O. Nash I'm Stranger here Myself 246 Breakfast is punctuated with spousely snorts.
2015 W. J. McCormack Northman iv. 91 Their wives had evidently met, and spousely greetings generally featured at the end of letters from one poet to the other.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2016; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
spousev.
/spaʊz/, U.S. /spaʊz/α. early Middle English spouse (past participle), early Middle English spousi, early Middle English spousy, Middle English spose, Middle English spus, Middle English spuse, Middle English–1500s spowse, Middle English– spouse; also Scottish pre-1700 spous, 1800s spouss.
β. 1600s 1800s 'spouse.
Now rare (chiefly archaic in later use).† 3.
1. † a. As an active verb.
(a) transitive. To give in marriage; to arrange for (a person or couple) to be married; to betroth; = espouse v. 2b(a). Also figurative. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > betrothal > betroth [verb (transitive)]
handfastlOE
spousea1225
spousec1300
truthc1330
sickerc1384
assure1393
ensurea1450
fiancea1450
affya1500
insure1530
affiance1531
promise1548
betroth1566
espouse1581
contract1599
engage1728
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > action or fact of marrying > marry [verb (reflexive)]
spousea1225
weda1225
spouse1340
marryc1350
matchc1400
mingle1487
nuptialize1678
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > action or fact of marrying > marry [verb (transitive)] > give in marriage
spousea1225
marryc1325
(to give, have) to warisonc1330
to give (also conjoin, join, take) in (also to, into) marriage1340
wedc1374
betakea1382
bestowc1405
a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 131 He is [emended in ed. to his] haueð ȝespused to Criste.
c1300 (c1250) Floris & Blauncheflur (Cambr.) (1966) l. 788 He let hem to one chirche bringe, And spusen hem wiþ one gold ringe.
c1300 11000 Virgins (Harl.) 11 in Eng. Stud. (1923) 57 103 To spouse hire & his sone to-gadere he hadde iþoȝt.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 233 (MED) William his douȝter þat he had i-spoused was dede wiþ ynne age of wedlok.
a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) 2 Cor. xi. 2 Y haue spousid ȝou to oon hosebonde.
1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) f. ciiii If that a man of hye or lowe degre Wolde spouse his doughter vnto a straunge man.
1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome (1903) II. iii. xvi. 9 O appius, I haue spousit my dochter to Icelius and nocht to þe.
1565 T. Stapleton Fortresse of Faith f. 85 I haue spoused you to one husband.
1698 B. Keach Display of Glorious Grace x. 215 Our Covenant therefore is but a branch of Christ's Covenant with God the Father, in which he engaged to Spouse and Marry us to himself for ever.
(b) transitive. To officiate at the marriage of; to unite in marriage; = espouse v. 2b(b). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > action or fact of marrying > marry [verb (transitive)] > join in marriage
wedOE
join1297
spousec1325
bind1330
couplea1340
to put togethera1387
conjoin1447
accouple1548
matea1593
solemnize1592
espouse1599
faggot1607
noose1664
to give (also conjoin, join, take) in (also to, into) marriage1700
rivet1700
to tie the knot1718
buckle1724
unite1728
tack1732
wedlock1737
marry1749
splice1751
to turn off1759
to tie up1894
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 10839 Seint edmund þo at canterburi spousede to vr kinge Þe erles doȝter of prouence elianore to wiue.
c1450 in A. H. Thomas & I. D. Thornley Great Chron. London (1938) 9 (MED) Edmond Erchebysshop of Caunterbury spoused the kyng and Elyanore..to gedyr at Caunterbury.
b. transitive. In passive. To be married or betrothed (to, †unto, †with a person); = espouse v. 2a. Also figurative.In the absence of an explicitly mentioned agent of the verb, it is not always clear whether a meaning corresponding to sense 1a(a) (‘to give in marriage’) or sense 1a(b) (‘to unite in marriage’) is intended.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > betrothal > betroth [verb (transitive)]
handfastlOE
spousea1225
spousec1300
truthc1330
sickerc1384
assure1393
ensurea1450
fiancea1450
affya1500
insure1530
affiance1531
promise1548
betroth1566
espouse1581
contract1599
engage1728
c1300 Life & Martyrdom Thomas Becket (Harl. 2277) (1845) l. 116 (MED) Of this Bischops hi were anon ispoused in the place.
c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) 6566 After mete asked king Ban..Whi Gvenour his douhter precious To sum gentil man were [read nere]yspouse.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 235 Þe lamb of mildenesse..to huam hi byeþ y-spoused.
a1350 in K. Böddeker Altengl. Dichtungen (1878) 202 Iesu, mi soule is spoused to þe.
a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1869) I. 142 Clerkis seien þat whan a man is brouȝt þus to Goddis chambre, þan he is fully spousid with God, and dowid [etc.].
c1450 (c1425) Brut (Cambr. Kk.1.12) 338 Yn þis same ȝere come Quene Anne yn-to Engelond, for to be spoused vnto King Richard.
a1492 W. Caxton tr. Vitas Patrum (1495) i. xlviii. f. lxxxxiiiv/2 He to whom I shold haue be spowsed and maryed wente his waye secretely.
a1530 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfeccyon (1531) iii. f. Clxxxvii So, the soule..begynneth to be spoused & coupled to god.
1595 W. S. Lamentable Trag. Locrine i. i Thou shalt be spoused to fair Guendolen.
1645 I. Knutton Seven Questions vi. 23 Such a Church is the spouse of Christ, and whilst she holds the foundation of Religion..she is spoused to Christ.
1663 J. Griffith Some Prison-meditations 125 The Angel Gabril..went Unto a Virgin 'spoused to a man.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost v. 216 They led the Vine To wed her Elm; she spous'd about him twines Her mariageable arms. View more context for this quotation
1810 G. Chalmers Caledonia II. 355 She was spoused, at Windsore; and the contract consummated, at Dalkeith.
1832 S. E. Brydges Lake Geneva iii. 70 Sons and daughters flourish'd Spous'd to the worthiest of the neighbouring houses.
a1838 J. Fitchett King Alfred (1841) I. viii. 414 The Danish Princess, spoused To royal Sigurd, his renowned sire.
1887 A. T. de Vere Legends & Rec. Church & Empire 261 A Christian wife With babes, or spoused to Christ, and His alone.
a1910 W. V. Moody Poems & Plays (1912) I. 165 The well where the old men Sat murmuring at Medea, and at their chief Spoused to the witch.
1990 R. Friedman In Search of Western Oregon (1992) 443 Ogden was twice spoused to Indian women.
2. † b. transitive (reflexive). To get married. Obsolete.† c. intransitive. To take a spouse; to marry with someone. Obsolete.
a. transitive. To take as a spouse (literal and figurative); = espouse v. 1a, 1b.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > action or fact of marrying > marry [verb (transitive)] > a woman
weda1000
brideOE
spousec1300
wed to warisonc1330
to take to matrimonyc1400
wivec1425
to make (a woman) an honest woman1562
c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) l. 1123 Þe shal spusen mi cokes knaue, Ne shalt þou non oþer louerd haue.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 589 King lotrin vnder veng wel vain & spouse [c1425 Harl. spousede] is doȝter þat het gvendolein.
c1390 (c1300) MS Vernon Homilies in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1877) 57 248 To þat house Come Maydenes, ihesu crist to spouse.
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Clerk's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 386 This Markys hath hire spoused with a ryng.
c1475 (?c1451) Bk. Noblesse (Royal) (1860) 24 King Lowes of Fraunce in his yong age..spoused the said Alienor.
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) II. f. cxxix In ye moneth of Ianuary next ensuynge..kynge Philip spoused his seconde wyfe, Blaunche.
1517 R. Torkington Oldest Diarie Englysshe Trav. (1884) 12 They..Spoused the see with a ryng.
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene v. iii. sig. O2v To Faerie land; Where he her spous'd, and made his ioyous bride. View more context for this quotation
1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. ii. 93 He Spous'd in India Of noble house a Lady gay.
a1672 P. Sterry Rise Kingdom of God (1683) 495 He..will never..suffer..this Soul, or this Body, which he hath spoused, as chast Virgins to himself, to see Corruption.
1717 E. Fenton Poems 103 Next that lovely Shade Stood Megara, of Creon's Royal Race, By great Alcides spous'd.
1805 tr. A. Lafontaine Hermann & Emilia II. 5 I will spouse Roslace; but Rolfs shall not possess Emilia.
1827 Casket Nov. 427/2 The proprietor dying he spoused his widow.
1891 D. B. W. Sladen Edward Black Prince iv. viii. 159 How I yearned to spouse her on the eve Of my first spurs.
1914 W. Malone Hernando de Soto xix. 399 Look upon our maids; See, they are vigorous, they are comely: let Thy young men spouse them.
1986 B. Misra Indian Culture & Cult Jagannātha iii. 105 Enamoured of the beauty of his daughter, Dakṣha spoused her.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > action or fact of marrying > marry [verb (reflexive)]
spousea1225
weda1225
spouse1340
marryc1350
matchc1400
mingle1487
nuptialize1678
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 225 Þaȝ hit by zuo þet ha zeneȝi dyadliche þet efter zuych ane beheste him spouseþ.
a1450 St. Katherine (Richardson 44) (1884) 44 And I haue spoused me to hym.
1528 Rede me & be nott Wrothe sig. g iv Their vowes, Wherby theym selves they spowse, To god.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > action or fact of marrying > marry [verb (intransitive)]
weda1225
marrya1325
spousec1390
to make matrimonyc1400
intermarry1528
contract1530
to give (also conjoin, join, take) in (also to, into) marriage1535
to make a match1547
yoke1567
match1569
mate1589
to go to church (with a person)1600
to put one's neck in a noosec1600
paira1616
to join giblets1647
buckle1693
espouse1693
to change (alter) one's condition1712
to tie the knot1718
to marry out1727
to wedlock it1737
solemnize1748
forgather1768
unite1769
connubiate1814
conjugalize1823
connubialize1870
splice1874
to get hitched up1890
to hook up1903
c1390 MS Vernon Homilies in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1877) 57 259 (MED) He þouhte to spouse; he tok hym wyf.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 2336 Wit þe lau þat þai liued in Men suld not spuse bot in þer kin.
a1500 Consail & Teiching Vys Man (Cambr. Kk.1.5) in R. Girvan Ratis Raving & Other Early Scots Poems (1939) 247 Spous nocht..Bot thow wyt weil quhar, quhy & how.
1622 S. Ward Christ All in All (1627) 21 Spouse not but in the Lord.
1764 J. Wilson Earl Douglas (rev. ed.) iii. ii. 37 Their [sc. Priests'] vile amours on virtue's ruins rise, Decoying girls to leave their careful friends To spouse with God.
1868 R. Buchanan Gaston Phœbus i. i, in Tragic Dramas II. 9 I' th' isle where virgins Breed serpents, so that none may spouse with them While they be maids, lest he be stung to death.
a. transitive. To ally or associate oneself with (an opinion, etc.); to take up (a cause); = espouse v. 4. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > support > support or encouragement > support or encourage [verb (transitive)] > a cause, principle, etc. > give support to a cause or principle
beclipc1380
to take up1502
to stick to ——?1531
espouse1595
spouse1603
wed1626
1603 King James VI & I Basilicon Doron (1944) I. ii. 77 They..were euer carefull..to spouse that quarrell as their owne.
1678 S. Butler Hudibras: Third Pt. ii. 118 When h'had taught his Tribe, to Spouse The Cause, aloft, upon one House, He scorn'd to set his own in Order.
a1696 H. Birkhead Female Rebellion (Hunterian 635) (1872) iii. i. 39 Thô now I'm forced to 'spouse the thriving side, If the stream turn, I'll strike in with the Tide.
1886 W. L. Campbell Civitas i. 17 I seek to move thy judgment, heart and will,..my most just cause to 'spouse.
b. transitive. Scottish. to spouse one's fortune: to seek one's fortune. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > trial or experiment > try experiments or make experiment [verb (intransitive)] > try one's fortune
to try one's fortune1574
to try one's luck1589
to spouse one's fortune1821
1821 J. Galt in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Sept. 168/1 Having gathered some lady-like cleeding, she spoused her fortune, and set out to try her luck in London.
1836 J. Galt in Tait's Edinb. Mag. June 391/2 It was agreed between us, that..I should spouse my fortune as an errander in Glasgow.
1854 Chambers's Jrnl. 7 Jan. 8/1 A Scotchman that gaed lang syne to spouss his fortune abroad, and chanced to settle in Sweden.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.a1200
v.a1225- obsequial
- obsequian
- obsequience
- obsequies
- obsequiosity
- obsequious
- obsequious-looking
- obsequiouslooking
- obsequiously
- obsequiousness
- obsequiousnesses
- obsequity
- obsequy
- obserate
- obseration
- observabilities
- observability
- observable
- observable universe
- observableness
- observables
- observably
- observal
- observance
- observances