Etymologically
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amor

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈa.mɔr][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈaː.mor][1]

Forms

amor m (genitive amōris); third declension[1] Plautus has the old nominative amōs, like honōs and labōs.[2]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin amō + -or, an action noun from the verb “to love”.[3][4][1] De Vaan traces the verb to Proto-Italic *amā- (“to take, hold”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃mh₃- (“to take hold of”), the Latin sense having developed from “take someone's hand” to “regard as a friend”.[4] Following Schrijver, he notes that the stative sense of the verb and the noun point to a stative verb ⟨*amā-ē-⟩, which would have arisen after Proto-Italic.[4]

Compare Ancient Greek ὄμνυμι (ómnumi, “to swear”) and Old Irish námae (“enemy”).[4] Köbler calls the origin unclear and mentions a word for “mother” (⟨*amma⟩) or an Etruscan source.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Naevius on.[4][5] Ennius writes of Medea amōre saevō saucia, “wounded by cruel love”.[3]

Semantic evolution

Amor is first sexual passion, love, also illicit love; in the plural (amōrēs) it is the person loved, and a love affair.[3] It is also affection for relatives and friends, between peoples, and for one's country (amor patriae, amor reī pūblicae).[3] Personified, Amor is the god of love, Cupid;[3][1] the poets use amōrēs of love songs and love stories.[3] It extends to fondness for things and pursuits, and to strong desire (sī tantus amor).[3]

In Medieval Latin it also meant a token of friendship, an amicable settlement of a dispute, a ruler's favour, and discretion (ad amōrem “at will”).[6]

English amour “love”, recorded from about 1300, comes from it through Old French.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 235–200 BC – First found in Naevius.[4][5]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses the plural amōrēs for the beloved: ad amōrēs meōs.[3][5]
  • 204–169 BC – Ennius: amōre saevō saucia.[3][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero speaks of amor reī pūblicae.[3][5]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil: amor … patriae.[3][5]
  • c. 1300 – English amour, through Old French.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Sexual passion, love;[3][2] illicit love.[3]
  2. (usually plural) The person loved, one's beloved.[3][1]
  3. A love affair;[3] sexual intercourse.[3]
  4. Love for relatives or friends, affection;[3] amor patriae, love of one's country.[3]
  5. An object of affection.[3]
  6. (personified) Love, the god of love, Cupid.[3][1]
  7. (plural) A love song, love story.[3]
  8. Fondness for, attachment to (possessions, pursuits).[3]
  9. Strong desire, yearning.[3]
  10. (Medieval Latin) A token of friendship; an amicable settlement of a dispute; a ruler's favour.[6]

Word family

  • amōrābundus
  • amorifer
  • amorificus

Usage notes

Lewis and Short set amor, like amō, as love from inclination, against cāritās, which like dīligō is love from esteem.[2] Döderlein draws the same line between amāre and dīligere.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper