Espouse

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /É›sˈspaÊŠz/

Origin

From Middle English espousen, from Old French espouser, from Latin spōnsāre, present active infinitive of spōnsō (frequentative of spondeō), from Proto-Indo-European *spend-

Full definition of espouse

Verb

1. (transitive) To become/get married to.
2. (transitive) To accept, support, or take on as one’s own (an idea or a cause).
• 1998, William Croft, Event Structure in Argument Linking, in: Miriam Butt and Wilhelm Geuder, eds., “The Projection of Arguments”, p. 37Although 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.
• 2011, Donald J. VAN Vliet, Letter: Republicans espouse ideology over national welfareThose that espoused this ideology ...

Related terms

• espousal
• sponsor
• spouse