When a person gets married, he becomes the husband of his partner.
With etymological origin in the Latin word marītus , husband is the name that a married man receives with respect to his spouse . When an individual marries , he becomes the husband of his partner . For example: "My husband went out to buy dinner, he will surely return in half an hour or so" , "Ana's husband works in a restaurant downtown", "The actress had three husbands but died alone" .
It should be noted that this Latin word, in turn, derives from the noun "mas, maris", which can be translated as "male". Other words that can function as synonyms for husband, in addition to spouse, are husband, consort or espoused.
The concept of husband today
For many years, marriage involved the union of a man (the husband) and a woman (the wife). However, today many countries have legalized marriage between people of the same gender : that is why, at least at a legal level, it is preferred to talk about spouses.
If two men get married, however, it is possible to refer to them both as husbands. This use of the term is correct if the definition of the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ) is taken into account.
The famous American actor Michael Douglas is the husband of the also renowned Welsh actress Catherine Zeta-Jones.
An example
It is important to consider that the notion of husband must always be understood in relation to his spouse . Let's look at a specific case. Actor Michael Douglas is the husband of actress Catherine Zeta-Jones . The couple married in 2000 and had two children ( Dylan Michael and Carys Zeta ). Douglas , in short, is Zeta-Jones ' husband because he married her; but he is not anyone else's husband. Only Zeta-Jones can speak of Douglas as "my husband."
It should be noted that divorce implies the legal breakdown of a marriage and, therefore, the man ceases to be the husband of the person who was his spouse. Returning to the previous example , if Douglas and Zeta-Jones divorce, he will no longer be her husband, and will even be in a position to become someone else's husband.
Polygamy and husbands
In the same way, we cannot ignore the existence of what is known as polygamy. This is a type of marriage that allows a man to be the husband of several women at the same time.
This practice is rejected in many parts of the world. Specifically, this happens in most Western countries that have Christian influences. Currently, it is allowed in certain corners of Canada and the United States, in Afghanistan, in Burma, in the United Arab Emirates, in Bangladesh as well as in Algeria, Gambia, Iraq, Gabon, Kuwait or Lebanon, for example.
A Douglas Jackson film
The world of cinema has a long list of films that have the term we are now dealing with in their titles. This would be the case, for example, of the film "The Perfect Husband" , which was released in 2004 under the direction of Douglas Jackson. It is a drama that tells the story of a newly married marriage that will soon begin to falter when she discovers that her husband is not as she thought. Specifically, he discovers that he behaves like a true psychopath.
Thomas Calabro, Tracy Nelson and Andrea Roth are some of the actors who lead the cast of this production.