Where does “spouse” come from?

Spouse comes from Middle English spous, from Old French espuse, from Latin sponsa, the feminine past participle of spondere, meaning to pledge or promise, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European spend-.

spouse (English): A person in a marriage or marital relationship;...

Definitions

  1. A person in a marriage or marital relationship;...

Ancestry of “spouse”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishspous—
2Old Frenchesposhusband
3Latinspōnsusa groom
4Latinspondeōto promise, bind or pledge oneself, contract, vow
5Proto-Italicspondeōto promise, to pledge
6Proto-Indo-Europeanspondéyeti—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanspend-to libate

Words derived from “spouse”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European spend- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European spondéyeti →Every word from Proto-Italic spondeō →