What does "espouse" mean?

Espouse: 2. To take as spouse; to take to wife; to marry. Lavinia will I make my empress, . . . And in the sacred Pantheon her espouse. Shak.

Additional senses

  1. 2.To take to one's self with a view to maintain; to make one's own; to take up the cause of; to adopt; to embrace. "He espoused that quarrel." Bacon. Promised faithfully to espouse his cause as soon as he got out of the war. Bp. Burnet.

Sources