cónyuge

Cónyuge is a term used in Romance-language legal and formal contexts to denote a spouse—the person to whom one is legally married or bound by a civil union. In most legal systems, a cónyuge has reciprocal rights and duties, including mutual support, joint management of family affairs, and rights to inheritance or next of kin status. In many jurisdictions, the terms husband and wife refer to gender-specific roles, while cónyuge is gender-neutral and used in formal and statutory texts.

Etymology and variants: The word derives from the Latin coniunx (spouse). In Portuguese, the standard spelling is cônjuge, with a circumflex on the o; the form cónyuge appears in some texts or as a transcription variant in multilingual contexts. Other Romance languages have cognates with similar meaning, adapted to local orthography.

Legal status: In civil-law countries and in many nations, the cónyuge is the basic unit of the family-law system, with rights and duties in marriage or registered partnerships. When spouses dissolve a union, issues such as property division, alimony, and custody are negotiated or adjudicated.

Usage: Outside strict legal contexts, equivalents like marido and esposa are common in everyday speech, while cónyuge is used more in formal, administrative, or legal language.

Related concepts include marriage, civil union, and domestic partnership.