espouse

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“
The marriage day was come, the house was garnished with lawrel, and torches were set in every place in the honour of Hymeneus, my espouse was accompanied by his parents, kinsfolke, and friends, and made sacrifices in the temples and publique places.

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Definitions (12)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. transitive verb To take in marriage; marry.
  2. transitive verb To give (a woman) in marriage.
  3. transitive verb To give one's loyalty or support to (a cause, for example); adopt.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (5)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (3)

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Examples (47)

  • If we really acted out of the values we claim to espouse, then there would be no asymmetry in our reactions to the suggestion in the thought-experiment. —  Palestine Chronicle - Headlines
  • I hope the future of Ireland IS socialism and for one very simple reason - we already tried the alternative he and his ex-pat billionaire employer espouse, and it's brought us to the brink of destruction. —  Politics in Ireland - Irish Politics
  • NOTHING anyone says that doesn't dove-tail with what you all espouse is acceptable with you.
  • The body positions that these coaches espouse are the effects of a good bat swing and not the cause of it. —  CaribbeanCricket.com
  • "That constitution is the product of our effort and values which we espouse, and the ANC is the custodian of that Constitution." —  IOL: News
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same contextWord Family

espouse:   espoused ·  espousing ·  espouses
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English espousen, from Old French espouser, from Latin spōnsāre, frequentative of spondēre, to betroth; see spend- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from Middle English espouse, from Old French espous, espoux, masculine, espouse, feminine (= Italian sposo, masculine, sposa, feminine), from Latin sponsus, masculine, sponsa, feminine, one betrothed, past participle of spondere, promise, promise in marriage: see sponsor, respond, etc. Hence, by apheresis (though actually older in English), spouse, n., q. v.
  2. from Middle English espousen, from Old French espouser, French épouser = Provencal espozar = Italian sposare, from Late Latin sponsare, betroth, espouse, from Latin spondere, past participle sponsus, promise, promise in marriage, betroth: see espouse, n. Hence, by apheresis (though actually older in English), spouse, v., q. v.
 

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/ɛsˈpaʊz/
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