sweetheart English · revision 39927

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=c. 1290, South English Legendary}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /ˈswiːtˌhɑːt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[m|enm|swete herte]],^(MWU 2024)^(Dictionary.com 2016)^(Skeat 1911) a compound [[af|en|sweet|heart]].^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966)^(SOED 2002) Etymonline notes that it was properly written separately until the Elizabethans began to run it together.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A term of endearment, "darling", used chiefly in addressing someone: about 1290, in the ''South English Legendary'' life of St Kenelm.^(OED 2026) Etymonline dates it to about 1300 as a form of address to a child.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Chaucer used ''swete herte'' in ''Troilus and Criseyde'',^(Skeat 1911) and Etymonline dates the noun meaning "loved one" to the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) The OED dates the sense "a person with whom one is in love" to 1576,^(OED 2026) and has a person loved illicitly, a paramour, between 1589 and 1796;^(OED 2026) Johnson (1755) gave "a lover or mistress".^(Johnson 1755) As a form of address it could also be ironic or contemptuous,^(OED 2026) and in American slang from the early 20th century it was used with no affection implied, as in Sinclair Lewis's ''Elmer Gantry'' (1927).^(GDoS) Several transferred senses grew up in colloquial and dialect use: a heart-shaped sugar cake or jam tart (1732), the burrs and prickly seeds that cling to clothes (1750) and a tame rabbit (1840).^(OED 2026) In North American usage ''sweetheart'' has meant anything especially good of its kind since 1942.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) The adjective, for an agreement made privately between a trade union and an employer to the disadvantage of the workers, is recorded from 1959,^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) as in ''sweetheart contract'' and ''sweetheart deal''.^(GDoS) The verb, to court or be courting, dates from 1798;^(OED 2026) in Cumberland it could mean to seduce.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1290 – a term of endearment.^(OED 2026)

+ * late 14th century – a loved one.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1576 – a person with whom one is in love.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1589–1796 – a paramour.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1732 – a heart-shaped sugar cake or jam tart.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1798 – verb, to court or be courting.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1927 – (US slang) a form of address implying no affection.^(GDoS)

+ * 1942 – (North America) anything especially good of its kind.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1959 – a union–employer agreement that disadvantages the workers.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person one is in [[love]] with; a [[boyfriend]] or [[girlfriend]]: ''They had been sweethearts since school.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # A term of [[endearment]] for someone one loves or likes; also used ironically or with no affection.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # (informal) A kind, generous or [[lovable]] person.^(Collins 2023)

+ # (North America, informal) Anything especially good of its kind.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of an agreement: made privately between a [[trade union]] and an [[employer]], to the advantage of the employer rather than the workers.^(OED 2026)^(GDoS)

+ # Of a garment: having a [[neckline]] shaped like the top of a heart.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # (dated) To court someone, or to be courting.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sweetheart contract]]

+ * [[sweetheart neckline]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sweet]]

+ * [[sweetie]]

+ * [[heart]]

+ * [[darling]]

+ * [[honey]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}