sponsus

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈspõː.sʊs]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈspɔn.sus]

Etymology 1

Perfect passive participle of spondeō (“to vow, pledge”). The noun was substantivized from the participle.

Noun

spōnsus m (genitive spōnsī, feminine spōnsa); second declension

1. a groom
2. a fiancé

Declension

Second-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	spōnsus	spōnsī
genitive	spōnsī	spōnsōrum
dative	spōnsō	spōnsīs
accusative	spōnsum	spōnsōs
ablative	spōnsō	spōnsīs
vocative	spōnse	spōnsī

Derived terms

• spōnsālia
• spōnsālis
• spōnsō

Related terms

• spōnsa
• spōnsiō
• spōnsor
• spōnsum

Descendants

• Asturian: esposu
• Catalan: espòs
• Friulian: spôs
• Galician: esposo
• German: Gespons
• Ido: spozo
  • Esperanto: spozo
• Italian: sposo
  • German: Gspusi
• Judeo-Italian: סְפוּסוֹ (səpuso /⁠spuso⁠/)
• Lombard: spós
• Occitan: espós
• Old French: espos
  • French: époux m
  • Anglo-Norman: espus m
    • → Middle English: spous, spouse
      • English: spouse
• Portuguese: esposo
• Romansh: spus, spous
• Sardinian: isposu, sposu
• Sicilian: spusu
• Spanish: esposo
• Venetan: spóxo

Participle

spōnsus (feminine spōnsa, neuter spōnsum); first/second-declension participle

1. pledged, promised
2. betrothed
3. vowed

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	spōnsus	spōnsa	spōnsum		spōnsī	spōnsae	spōnsa
genitive	spōnsī	spōnsae	spōnsī		spōnsōrum	spōnsārum	spōnsōrum
dative	spōnsō	spōnsae	spōnsō		spōnsīs
accusative	spōnsum	spōnsam	spōnsum		spōnsōs	spōnsās	spōnsa
ablative	spōnsō	spōnsā	spōnsō		spōnsīs
vocative	spōnse	spōnsa	spōnsum		spōnsī	spōnsae	spōnsa

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *spend-

Proto-Indo-European *spondéyeti

Proto-Italic *spondejō

Proto-Italic *spondeō

Latin spondeō

Proto-Indo-European *-tus

Proto-Italic *-tus

Latin -tus

Latin spōnsus

From spondeō + -tus (forming action noun).

Noun

spōnsus m (genitive spōnsūs); fourth declension

1. (rare) a bail, surety

   Synonyms: pignus, fīdūcia

   Near-synonym: arrha

Usage notes

Only used in the ablative singular.

Declension

Fourth-declension noun, singular only.

	singular
nominative	spōnsus
genitive	spōnsūs
dative	spōnsuī
accusative	spōnsum
ablative	spōnsū
vocative	spōnsus

References

• “spōnsus¹”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “spōnsus²”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “spōnsus¹”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “spōnsus²”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “sponsus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.