Etymology From Middle English spous, spouse, from Anglo-Norman espus m, espuse f and Old French espos m, espose f and by aphesis from Latin spōnsus m (“bridegroom”), spōnsa f (“bride”), from spondeō (“to vow, pledge”), from Proto-Indo-European *spend-. Displaced native Old English ġemaca. Related to espouse and sponsor.
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A person in a marriage or marital relationship.
People should treat their spouses with respect.
At last such grace I found, and meanes I wrought, / That I that Ladie to my spouse had wonne1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto IV”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 21:
1 more example
But mama got wise to the game / The youngest of five kids, hon here it is / After ten years without no spouse / Mama's gettin married in the house1992, Pete Rock and CL Smooth, “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)”, in Mecca and the Soul Brother:
Etymology From Middle English spous, spouse, from Anglo-Norman espus m, espuse f and Old French espos m, espose f and by aphesis from Latin spōnsus m (“bridegroom”), spōnsa f (“bride”), from spondeō (“to vow, pledge”), from Proto-Indo-European *spend-. Displaced native Old English ġemaca. Related to espouse and sponsor.
Do you stand possess’d Of any proof against the honourableness Of Lady Auranthe, our new-spoused daughter?1819, John Keats, Otho the Great, act III, scene II, verses 212-214: