The word “spouse” can be used both for male and female partners in marriage. It is a common gender noun, meaning it refers to both masculine and feminine without changing its form. The term is gender-neutral and focuses on the relationship rather than the gender of the person.

• Spouse is used to mean either husband (male partner) or wife (female partner). For example, in the sentence “He invited his spouse to the ceremony,” the word spouse could refer to either a man or a woman depending on the context.

• It belongs to the group of common gender nouns like teacher, doctor, friend, cousin, which can be used for both men and women.

• Grammatically, these words do not change form when referring to different genders. The gender is understood from the surrounding words or context.

• The word spouse comes from the Latin word “sponsus/sponsa” meaning betrothed or promised one. Over time, it evolved into a term that universally means a married partner, regardless of gender.

• In formal writing and legal contexts, spouse is widely preferred over gender-specific words like husband or wife because it includes both sexes equally.

• Using such common gender words helps promote gender neutrality in English, which aligns with modern usage trends emphasizing equality.

• In contrast, masculine and feminine pairs like actor/actress, waiter/waitress, or prince/princess specify gender, whereas spouse remains neutral.

The other options do not fit the condition:

• Actor was originally masculine; its feminine form is actress.

• Gender itself means the classification of nouns as masculine, feminine, or neuter, not a noun representing a person.

• Spinster is a specifically feminine term meaning an unmarried woman.

Hence, the correct answer is spouse, as it can represent both masculine and feminine forms without any change in spelling or meaning.

• Complete Sentence: The swain wooed the nymph with flowery verse, while the old spinster tended her heifer in the meadow nearby.

• Masculine Gender: swain

  • Swain (নাগর) হচ্ছে Masculine Gender।

  • এর Feminine Gender: Nymph (রূপসী নারী)

• Feminine Gender: spinster

  • Spinster (অবিবাহিতা মহিলা) হচ্ছে Feminine Gender।

  • এর Masculine Gender: Bachelor (অবিবাহিত পুরুষ)

• Feminine Gender: heifer

  • Heifer (বকনা বাছুর) হচ্ছে Feminine Gender।

  • এর Masculine Gender: Bullock (এঁড়ে বাছুর)

Source: 1. Cambridge Dictionary 2. Accessible Dictionary by Bangla Academy

Sheep is a common gender.

• Sheep (noun) [Plural: Sheep]

  • English meaning: A farm animal with thick wool that eats grass and is kept for its wool, skin, and meat.

  • Bangla meaning: ভেড়া; মেষ; গড্ডল।

  • সাধারণভাবে পুরুষ (মেষ) ও স্ত্রী (মেষ) উভয়ের জন্য Sheep ব্যবহার করা হয়।

• Common gender:

  • যে সমস্ত শব্দ দ্বারা একই সাথে পুরুষ এবং স্ত্রী উভয়ই বোঝানো যায়, তাদের common gender বলা হয়।

  • উদাহরণ: Infant (শিশু), Deer (হরিণ), Student (ছাত্র/ছাত্রী), Lawyer (উকিল), Orphan (এতিম), Parent (মা/বাবা), Spouse (দম্পতি) ইত্যাদি।

• অন্য উদাহরণ:

  • Mare (ঘোটকী) – masculine gender: Horse (ঘোটক)

  • Shrew – বদমেজাজি, কটুভাষী, খাণ্ডারি বা মুখরা রমণী; সাধারণত masculine form নেই

  • Jew (ইহুদি পুরুষ) – feminine gender: Jewess (ইহুদি নারী)