Spouses

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈspaʊ.sɪz/

Definitions

1. A pair of individuals who are married under law, sharing life together with mutual duties and emotional connection
2. Two people legally united in marriage who share a committed relationship
3. A couple joined by matrimonial vows and recognized as partners in life

Etymology: Behind "spouse" lies a promise: the Latin "spōnsus" meant "bridegroom" and "spōnsa" meant "bride", both drawn from "spondeō", "to vow or pledge". The word reached English through Anglo-Norman and Old French forms, and it was the Latin root's vow that gave the word its legal weight, so that to be a spouse was to be bound by a solemn pledge. English once had its own word for this role. Old English "ġemaca" meant something close to "mate" or "companion", but it was displaced by the borrowed term, which came into use in Middle English. The shift is a reminder that the English of the Middle Ages was a mixture of native and French-influenced vocabulary, with the newer word eventually winning out. "Spouses" is simply the plural of "spouse", so the couple it names are the two people who have made that vow to one another. The same Latin root also produced "espouse", "to marry or to adopt a cause", and "sponsor", a person who vouches for another.

Synonyms: partners, mates, couples

Antonyms: singles, loners