Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “spousal” come from?

Spousal comes from English spouse, which derives from Latin sponsa and sponsus, both from Latin spondere meaning to pledge or promise.

spousal (English): of or relating to marriage; of or relating to a...

Definitions

  1. of or relating to marriage; of or relating to a...

Ancestry of “spousal”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishspouseA person in a marriage or marital relationship;...
2Middle Englishspous—
3Old Frenchesposhusband
4Latinspōnsus—
5Latinspondeō—
6Proto-Italicspondeōto promise, to pledge
7Proto-Indo-Europeanspondéyeti—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanspend-to libate

Words derived from “spousal”

  • interspousal
  • spousally
Every word from Proto-Indo-European spend- →