ə̇ˈspau̇zəl, eˈ- also -au̇səl noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English espousaille, from Middle French espousailles, plural, from Latin sponsalia, from neuter plural of sponsalis of a betrothal or espousal, from sponsus betrothed, noun (from sponsus, past participle of spondēre to promise solemnly, betroth) + -alis -al — more at spouse
: the act of espousing:
a. : betrothal
the espousal of the man's son to a neighbor's daughter
b. : the marriage ceremony : nuptials — often used in plural
c. : marriage ; also : a union resembling a marriage
the espousal of the soul to Christ
d. : a taking up or adopting as a cause or belief
his wholehearted espousal of Indian independence — Herrymon Maurer
values whose espousal has constituted until now the heart of the distinction between human achievement and merely bestial life — Eliseo Vivas