Dictionary

espouse en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ɪˈspaʊs/
• (Southern-England) audio
• (US) audio
• /ɪˈspaʊz/ (UK)

Etymology

From Middle English espousen, borrowed from Old French espouser, from Latin spōnsāre (frequentative of spondeō), from Proto-Indo-European *spend-.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To marry.
   • For I am iealous ouer you with godly iealousie, for I haue espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Corinthians 11:2:
   • Now the birth of Iesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Ioseph (before they came together) shee was found with childe of the holy Ghost. 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 1:18:
   • Elberich endeavours to persuade her to become a Christian, and espouse Otnit; and to convince her of the incapacity of her gods, he tumbles their images into the fosse. 1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, London: H.G. Bohn, page 212:
   • He espoused several wives, and besides kept a considerable number of concubines in his harem. 1922, Maneckji Nusserwanji Dhalla, Zoroastrian Civilization, page 232:
   • Philip and Henry terminated hostilities by a mutual restitution of all places taken during the course of the war; and Philip espoused the princess Elizabeth, eldest daughter of France, formerly betrothed to his son Don Carlos. 1759, David Hume, “[Elizabeth I.]”, in The History of England, under the House of Tudor. […], volume II, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, page 414:
2. (figuratively, qualifier:modern usage, transitive) To accept, support, or take on as one’s own (an idea or a cause).
   • Although Dowty’s proposal is attractive from the point of view of the alternative argument linking theory that I am espousing, since it eschews the use of thematic roles and thematic role hierarchies, […], but it still has some drawbacks. 1998, William Croft, “The Projection of Arguments”, in Miriam Butt, Wilhelm Geuder, editors, Event Structure in Argument Linking, page 37:
   • Those that espoused this ideology […] 2011, Donald J. van Vliet, “Letter: Republicans espouse ideology over national welfare”, in The Eagle-Tribune, retrieved 18 Dec 2013:
   • Among those leavers who believe Brexit has not gone well, many blame politicians for handling it badly – a narrative espoused by the former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, who recently claimed that “Brexit has failed”. 2023 June 22, Heather Stewart, “Only 18% of leave voters think Brexit has been a success, poll finds”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

Forms

Deriveds

espousable · disespouse

Relateds

spouse · espousal · sponsor

Translations (52)

cs přijmout (accept, support, take as one’s own) · bg поддържам (accept, support, take as one’s own) · nl verdedigen (accept, support, take as one’s own) · nl in het huwelijk treden met (to marry) · bg женя се (to marry) · pt desposar (to marry) · de unterstützen (accept, support, take as one’s own) · es pregonar (accept, support, take as one’s own) · de heiraten (to marry) · cs vzít za své (accept, support, take as one’s own) · sv anamma (accept, support, take as one’s own) · cs ženit se (to marry) · nl trouwen met (to marry) · de eintreten für (accept, support, take as one’s own) · nl ondersteunen (accept, support, take as one’s own) · cs brát za své (accept, support, take as one’s own) · de ehelichen (to marry) · nl tot man nemen (to marry) · cs vdávat se (to marry) · de sich vermählen mit (to marry) · ru отдава́ться (accept, support, take as one’s own) · cs vdát se (to marry) · nl aannemen (accept, support, take as one’s own) · fr épouser (accept, support, take as one’s own) · eo geedziĝi je (to marry) · de die Ehe eingehen mit (to marry) · ru жени́ться (to marry) · es desposar (to marry) · nl tot vrouw nemen (to marry) · el ασπάζομαι (accept, support, take as one’s own) · es promulgar (accept, support, take as one’s own) · cs oženit se (to marry) · de zum Mann nehmen (to marry) · eo adopti (accept, support, take as one’s own) · pl poślubić (to marry) · fi omaksua (accept, support, take as one’s own) · de zur Frau nehmen (to marry) · pl wyjść za mąż (to marry) · pt apoiar (accept, support, take as one’s own) · fr épouser (to marry) · ru подде́рживать (accept, support, take as one’s own) · pl ożenić się (to marry) · el ενστερνίζομαι (accept, support, take as one’s own) · de Partei ergreifen für (accept, support, take as one’s own) · fi kannattaa (accept, support, take as one’s own) · eo apogi (accept, support, take as one’s own) · ru вступа́ть в бра́к (to marry) · fr adopter (accept, support, take as one’s own) · es propugnar (accept, support, take as one’s own) · de sich zu eigen machen (accept, support, take as one’s own) · cs přijímat (accept, support, take as one’s own) · eo subteni (accept, support, take as one’s own)