Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A marriage partner; a husband or wife.
- transitive verb To marry; wed.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A married person, husband or wife; either one of a married pair.
- To take for a husband or a wife; wed; espouse.
- To give in marriage.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb obsolete To wed; to espouse.
- noun A man or woman engaged or joined in wedlock; a married person, husband or wife.
- noun obsolete A married man, in distinction from a
spousess ormarried woman ; a bridegroom or husband.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A person's
husband orwife . - verb dated To
wed ; toespouse .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a person's partner in marriage
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The term spouse is applied to married people until their marriage is consummated
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 5: Diocese-Fathers of Mercy 1840-1916 1913
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The new marriage licenses - which add the term spouse - will be distributed to town and city clerk offices across the state in advance of the same-sex marriage law taking effect July 24.
NY Daily News 2011
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Specifically, from 1973 through 2008, the percent who say that "a married person having sexual relations with someone other than their spouse is always wrong" has steadily decreased.
Bella DePaulo: Infidelity in America: Decades of Cheating and Passing Judgment on Cheaters Bella DePaulo 2010
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Section 3 of DOMA provides that for all purposes under federal law, the word "marriage" means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word "spouse" refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or wife.
Todd A. Solomon: Federal Government Refuses to Defend Defense of Marriage Act -- So Now What Todd A. Solomon 2011
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Specifically, from 1973 through 2008, the percent who say that "a married person having sexual relations with someone other than their spouse is always wrong" has steadily decreased.
Bella DePaulo: Infidelity in America: Decades of Cheating and Passing Judgment on Cheaters Bella DePaulo 2010
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Specifically, from 1973 through 2008, the percent who say that "a married person having sexual relations with someone other than their spouse is always wrong" has steadily decreased.
Bella DePaulo: Infidelity in America: Decades of Cheating and Passing Judgment on Cheaters Bella DePaulo 2010
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Section 3 of DOMA provides that for all purposes under federal law, the word "marriage" means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word "spouse" refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or wife.
Todd A. Solomon: Federal Government Refuses to Defend Defense of Marriage Act -- So Now What Todd A. Solomon 2011
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Your spouse is a veteran who awakes in the night in a sweat from nightmares and has anger outbursts during the day.
Lloyd I. Sederer, MD: Finding the Right Psychiatrist MD Lloyd I. Sederer 2010
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Killing your spouse is an effective way of ending an argument but that doesn't make it OK; it's still murder and still illegal.
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Your spouse is a veteran who awakes in the night in a sweat from nightmares and has anger outbursts during the day.
Lloyd I. Sederer, MD: Finding the Right Psychiatrist MD Lloyd I. Sederer 2010
frindley commented on the word spouse
Plural: spice, of course.
As in "Professors and their spice are invited to the Garden Party…"
May 7, 2008
reesetee commented on the word spouse
Now, see? Spice sounds so much nicer than spouse.
May 7, 2008
bilby commented on the word spouse
I wish. But all I hear is:
"Professors and their louse-sucking, mousey, cows of house-vowed spouses are invited to the Garden Party..."
I just can't be faithful to an -ouse. Call me philandering, but other word endings seduce me by night and by day.
May 7, 2008
Prolagus commented on the word spouse
frindley would link to slice, now.
June 21, 2008