A man who is engaged to be married; the male version of fiancée.
From French 'fiancé,' the past participle of 'fiancer' meaning to betroth. It comes from 'fiance' (faith), because engagement was originally a matter of faith and sworn promise.
English borrowed this word from French but it's actually weird—we don't have native English words for 'almost-spouse,' so we borrowed French words (fiancé/fiancée) and even those are gendered. It's a gap in our vocabulary.
Fiancé/fiancée gendered distinction reflects traditional assumptions about marriage roles. Modern usage increasingly uses fiancé regardless of gender, but gendered spelling persists in formal English.
Use fiancé for all genders, or specify 'partner' to be fully inclusive.
["partner","betrothed","intended"]
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