Epouse, la (f) spouse, the Noun. A married woman; a man's marital partner. Origin: English, from Latin emancipata, freed, by derivation from epoque, from Gk. Ephuthein, to free. Emancipation was originally granted as a gift or favor by a king or prince to someone who had been enslaved. It was not obtained by payment or contract. The term is now used more broadly to include any freeing, releasing, or giving up (of an animal, for example) that is not due to be done under legal or contractual obligation. In ancient Rome, slaves were often given their freedom in return for serving in the army for a certain number of years. This type of emancipation is called military emancipation. Those freed this way were not considered equal to free persons and could not claim rights such as ownership of property or access to public offices. Some slaves were able to buy their own freedom. This form of emancipation is called slave redemption. Those who sold themselves into slavery did so because they could not meet the requirements for military emancipation or because they wanted to try their luck at something else after being denied freedom several times.