Espousal

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act of formally supporting or adopting a belief or cause ; a formal agreement to marry or a marriage itself
2. The action of embracing or endorsing an idea or principle ; a committed relationship through engagement or wedding
3. The process of taking up or backing a principle or policy ; the state of being united in marriage or pledged to wed

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "espousal" is how far it has travelled from the wedding altar. Its Latin source, "sponsalia", meant "a betrothal", the formal promise to marry, and it came from "sponsus", a person already pledged in marriage. The same root gave English "spouse", so the word for a marriage pledge and the word for a husband or wife are close cousins. Middle English took the word from Old French "espousailles", which kept the marriage sense for centuries. The "espouse" verb that stands behind it, meaning to marry or to take up a cause, is the reason the noun now carries the idea of wholehearted commitment to something other than a person. A promise to a spouse became a promise to a principle.

Synonyms: support, advocacy, marriage

Antonyms: rejection, abandonment, disavowal