épouser French · revision 17131

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1050, Vie de saint Alexis (espuser)|origins=la spondeō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /e.pu.ze/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''épouser'''^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''espuser'' (about 1050), ''espouser'' (about 1160); ''épouser'' in Pomey (1671).^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|espouser]], [[inh|la-lat|spōnsō|t=to promise in marriage, betroth]], the iterative of classical [[m|la|spondeō|t=to promise solemnly]], formed on its participle “spōnsus” (see [[époux]]).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|12, 210b)^(Wiktionary) “Spondere” was an old legal and religious word from an Indo-European root “*spend-” “to pour a libation, promise”, found in [[grc|σπένδω|tr=spéndō]] and [[hit|šipand-]] (see [[répondre]]).^(DHLF 1992) In Romance the Latin verb took the sense “to take as husband or wife”.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ Compare [[pro|espozar]], [[ca|esposar]] and [[it|sposare]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In the ''Vie de saint Alexis'' (about 1050) it means to take as husband or wife.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old French it also meant “to marry” two people, as a priest does (about 1138), a sense lost since, ''épouser qqn'' “to have relations with someone” (about 1155) became archaic.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(GLLF 1989) ''S'épouser'' is from 1440–75.^(DHLF 1992) Slang made ''épouser la veuve'' “to be hanged” (1610), later “guillotined”, and ''épouser la camarde'' “to die” (1867).^(DHLF 1992) One could ''épouser une dette'' with a spouse in the 16th century, and, from 1548 ''épouser'' a cause or a quarrel meant to embrace it.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) ''Épouser'' a shape, to fit it exactly, is from 1886.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1050 – ''Espuser'', ''Vie de saint Alexis''.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1130–40 – ''Espousee'', the bride of Christ, Wace.^(TLFi)

+ * 1548 – To espouse a cause.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1610 – ''Épouser la veuve'', to be hanged.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1665 – ''Épouseur'', Molière.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1886 – To fit a shape exactly.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|marry]], wed: ''il a épousé une Italienne'', ''s'épouser''.^(Wiktionary)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ # To take up, [[m|en|espouse]] (a cause, an idea): ''épouser la cause de qqn'', ''épouser une querelle''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ # To fit closely, follow exactly (a shape): ''une robe qui épouse les formes'', ''la route épouse le relief''.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[épouseur]]

+ * [[épousée]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[épousailles]]

+ * [[épouse]]

+ * [[époux]]

+ * [[répondre]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}