Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of or relating to marriage; nuptial.
  • adjective Of or relating to a spouse.
  • noun Marriage; nuptials.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Pertaining to marriage or espousal; nuptial; bridal; connubial.
  • noun Marriage; nuptials; espousal: often used in the plural.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Marriage; nuptials; espousal; -- generally used in the plural.
  • adjective Of or pertaining to a spouse or marriage; nuptial; matrimonial; conjugal; connubial; bridal.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective of or relating to marriage
  • adjective of or relating to a spouse, spouses; to the relationship between spouses
  • noun obsolete marriage; nuptials; espousal

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective of or relating to a wedding
  • adjective relating to a spouse

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From Middle English spousaille, marriage, from Old French espousaille, from Latin spōnsālia, betrothal, from neuter pl. of spōnsālis, of marriage, from spōnsus, past participle of spondēre, to pledge; see spouse.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From spouse +‎ -al

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Examples

Comments

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  • I have not loved a Roman, not to know

    What should become his wife; his wife, my Charmion!

    For ’tis to that high title I aspire;

    And now I’ll not die less. Let dull Octavia

    Survive, to mourn him dead: My nobler fate

    Shall knit our spousals with a tie, too strong

    For Roman laws to break.

    - John Dryden, 'All for Love'.

    September 20, 2009