# spouse

> English word · Noun · IPA /spaʊ̯s/ · frequency rank #7,747

## Definitions
1. A person in a marriage or marital relationship.

## 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.

## Easily confused with
- **spout** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/spouse-vs-spout)
- **spruce** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/spouse-vs-spruce)
- **spouses** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/spouse-vs-spouses)
- **sous** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sous-vs-spouse)
- **spoke** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/spoke-vs-spouse)
- **spots** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/spots-vs-spouse)
- **spore** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/spore-vs-spouse)
- **Sousa** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sousa-vs-spouse)
- **sponge** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sponge-vs-spouse)
- **sparse** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sparse-vs-spouse)
- **spousal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/spousal-vs-spouse)

## Common misspellings (8)
`psouse`, `sopuse`, `sposue`, `spoues`, `spousse`, `sppouse`, `spuose`, `sspouse`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/spouse