LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

spōnsus1

spōnsus m (genitive spōnsī, feminine spōnsa)
Classical[ˈspõː.sʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈspɔn.sus]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. a groom
  2. a fiancé

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

quī fēminae prōmissus est; novus marītus.
spōnsus -ī m — in Mille Verba, ch. Vīta et Mors

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativespōnsusspōnsī
genitivespōnsīspōnsōrum
spōnsuum
dativespōnsō
spōnsuī		spōnsīs
spōnsibus
accusativespōnsumspōnsōs
ablativespōnsō
spōnsū		spōnsīs
spōnsibus
vocativespōnsespōnsī

sponsus, a, um, Part. and P. a. of spondeo.
sponsus, ūs, m. spondeo,
I. an engagement, betrothal; bail, suretyship (rare but class.): quod sponsu erat alligatus, Varr. L. L. 6, § 71 sq. Müll.: de sponsu si quid perspexeris, Cic. Att. 12, 19, 2: agere cum aliquo ex sponsu, Varr. 1. 1.: sponsu locare, Phaedr. 1, 16, 1; Sulp. ap. Gell. 4, 4, 2: lex Furia de sponsu adversus eum, qui, etc., Gai. Inst. 4, 22.

Origins

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

Descendants
  • Catalanespòs
  • GermanGespons
  • Italiansposo
  • GermanGspusifrom Italian sposo
  • Occitanespós
  • Frenchépouxfrom Old French espos
  • Englishspousefrom Old French espos
  • Portugueseesposo
  • Sardinianisposu
  • Sardiniansposu

In English words that came into English from spōnsus

  • spousespōnsus
  • espousespōnsō
  • espousalsponsalia
  • sponsalsponsalis
noun · masculinefourth declension
spōnsus2
spōnsus m (genitive spōnsūs)
Classical[ˈspõː.sʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈspɔn.sus]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. rarea bail, surety
    Near-synonym: arrha

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativespōnsusspōnsī
genitivespōnsūs
spōnsī		spōnsōrum
spōnsuum
dativespōnsuī
spōnsō		spōnsibus
spōnsīs
accusativespōnsumspōnsōs
ablativespōnsū
spōnsō		spōnsibus
spōnsīs
vocativespōnsus
spōnse		spōnsī

sponsus, i, v. spondeo, P. a., A.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*spend-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*spondéyeti
  3. Proto-Italic*spondejō
  4. Proto-Italic*spondeō
  5. Latinspōnsus

Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Italic *-tus Latin -tus Latin spōnsus From spondeō + -tus (forming action noun).

Quick answers

What does spōnsus mean in Latin?
spōnsus, a noun, means “a groom; a fiancé”.
What is the genitive of spōnsus?
The genitive singular is spōnsī. spōnsus is masculine, second declension.
How do you pronounce spōnsus?
In classical Latin, [ˈspõː.sʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈspɔn.sus].
Which English words come from spōnsus?
English words that go back to Latin spōnsus include spouse, espouse, sponsal and espousal.