Espouse

//ɪˈspaʊs// verb

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To marry. transitive

    "For I am iealous ouer you with godly iealousie, for I haue espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ."

  2. 2
    take up the cause, ideology, practice, method, of someone and use it as one's own wordnet
  3. 3
    To accept, support, or take on as one’s own (an idea or a cause). figuratively, transitive

    "Although 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."

  4. 4
    choose and follow; as of theories, ideas, policies, strategies or plans wordnet
  5. 5
    take in marriage; married wordnet

Etymology

From Middle English espousen, borrowed from Old French espouser, from Latin spōnsāre (frequentative of spondeō), from Proto-Indo-European *spend-.

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