espouser

[Eng.espous(e); -er.] 1. One who espouses or marries. "As wooers and espousers , having commi ion or letters of credence to treat of a marriage." -- Bp . Gauden : Hi eras pistes (1653), p. 156. 2. One who adopts, supports, or maintains; a supporter, an advocate. "The espousers of that unauthorized and detestable scheme have been weak enough to a ert, that there is a knowledge in the elect, peculiar to those chosen ve els." -Allen: Serm. before Univ. of Oxford (1761), p. 11. ěs-près-si-vō, adv. [Ital.] Music: With expre ion. IMG:content-1144.png:[blocks in formation]