A is a partner in a marriage, civil union, domestic partnership or common-law marriage. The term is gender neutral, whereas a male spouse is a husband and a female spouse is a wife.
Although a spouse is a form of significant other, the latter term also includes non-marital partners who play a social role similar to that of a spouse, but do not have rights and duties reserved by law to a spouse.
The legal status of a spouse, and the specific rights and obligations associated with that status, varies by region and culture. Historically, many societies have given sets of rights and obligations to male marital partners that have been very different from the sets of rights and obligations given to female marital partners. In particular, the control of marital property, inheritance rights, and the right to dictate the activities of children of the marriage, have typically been given to the male partner. However, this practice was curtailed to a great deal in many countries in the twentieth century, and more modern statutes tend to define the rights and duties of a spouse without reference to gender.
Famous quotes containing the word spouse:
“Betray, kind husband, Thy spouse to our sights,
And let mine amorous soul court Thy mild Dove,
Who is most true and pleasing to Thee then
When she is embraced and open to most men.”
—John Donne (1572–1631)
“An early-rising man ... a good spouse but a bad husband.”
—Gabriel García Márquez (b. 1928)
“You and your spouse should consider the arguments you have, not as calamities in the history of your child’s development, but as opportunities for learning. Take the opportunity to teach your children the art of and value in negotiation, and to demonstrate your ability to empathize, your willingness to compromise, and your readiness to apologize for hurt you have inflicted on others.”
—Lawrence Balter (20th century)