Etymologically presents
Words of Love
Romance and passion, courtship and kisses, and the tender words that once meant something else entirely. A few love letters from the history of English.
The language of love
The words for the feeling itself, and for the people who stir it.
- 15th century valentine from Saint Valentine A sweetheart chosen on Saint Valentine’s Day. Chaucer’s poem of the birds choosing their mates on that day is the first to tie the saint to love; Valentinus himself takes his name from Latin valens, “strong, healthy”. Read the full etymology →
- Old English love from lufu From a root meaning “to care, desire”, which also gives German Liebe, Latin libido, and English believe. Love as “nothing” in tennis probably comes from playing “for love”, for no stake. Read the full etymology →
- c. 1300 romance from Old French romanz First a tale of chivalry in verse, written in the Roman, or Romance, vernacular rather than in Latin. Because so many such tales were about love, the word came at last, in the early 20th century, to mean a love affair. Read the full etymology →
- late 12th century passion from Latin passio “suffering” At first the sufferings of Christ on the Cross, from Latin pati “to suffer”, as in patient. Strong desire, and sexual love, followed in the 16th century. Read the full etymology →
- c. 1300 amorous from Latin amor “love” Through Old French amoros, from amor. Its relatives include amiable, amateur and paramour, “by way of love”. Read the full etymology →
- Old English darling from dēorling A “little dear”: dear with the diminutive -ling, as in duckling. It has been a term of endearment for over a thousand years. Read the full etymology →
- Old English kiss from cyssan Shared across the Germanic languages (German küssen, Swedish kyssa), and probably imitative of the sound itself. Read the full etymology →
- Old English heart from heorte A cousin of Latin cor and Greek kardía, which give cordial, courage, and cardiac. It was the seat of feeling, and of courage, long before anyone drew one on a card. Read the full etymology →
The art of courtship
How lovers have met, flirted and swooned.
- 1570s (verb) court from the royal court To court someone was first to behave as a courtier does: to flatter and pay attention in the hope of favour. Wooing was the obvious next step. Read the full etymology →
- Old English woo from wōgian One of the oldest words of courtship in English, and one of the most mysterious: it has no known relatives in any other language. Read the full etymology →
- 1550s flirt from imitative First to flick or toss something with a jerk, a sound-word like flick and flip. The flighty, playful courtship followed in the 18th century. Read the full etymology →
- 1896 date from Latin data “given” Roman letters began “given at Rome on…”, data Romae, and data became the date. The romantic appointment is American slang of the 1890s. The fruit is another word entirely, from Greek dáktylos “finger”. Read the full etymology →
- late 14th century tryst from Old French triste First a hunting term: an appointed station where a hunter waited for the game. Meeting places, and then lovers’ secret meetings, followed. Read the full etymology →
- 1884 crush from Old French cruissir To crush was to break or squash, a sense close to how it feels. A crush as a passing infatuation is American slang of the 1880s. Read the full etymology →
- c. 1200 swoon from Old English geswōgen To faint, from an Old English word meaning “in a swoon, dead”, of obscure origin. Read the full etymology →
Tokens of affection
Roses, chocolates, rings and vows.
- Old English rose from Latin rosa Latin rosa is probably related to Greek rhódon, and both may go back to an Iranian word. Rose was a flower name before it was a colour. Read the full etymology →
- c. 1600 chocolate from Nahuatl, via Spanish From the Nahuatl of Mexico, by way of Spanish. It was first a drink, made from cacao beans; solid chocolate for eating came much later. Read the full etymology →
- 15th century posy from a contraction of poesy A little poem, especially a motto inscribed inside a ring. A bunch of flowers became a posy too, perhaps because flowers could carry a message of their own. Read the full etymology →
- 1716 bouquet from French, “little wood” Old French bosquet, a thicket or copse. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu brought it into English in one of her letters. Read the full etymology →
- 1853 fiancé from French fiancer “to betroth” From fiance, “a promise, trust”, ultimately from Latin fidere “to trust”, as in fidelity and confide. Read the full etymology →
- Old English wedding from weddung From wed, “to pledge”. A wedding was the act of making a pledge, the vows themselves, long before it was the party. Read the full etymology →
- c. 1300 marry from Latin maritare Through Old French marier, from Latin maritus “husband”, which survives in marital. Read the full etymology →
Love letters
Words that have changed their minds: what they used to mean, sealed with a kiss.
- My dearest fond, you once meant foolish From Middle English fonne “a fool”. To be fond of someone was, at first, to be a fool for them; the warmer sense came in the 16th century.
- My dearest infatuate, you once meant to make a fool of Latin infatuare, from fatuus “foolish”, as in fatuous. Love has long been thought to make fools of us.
- My dearest buxom, you once meant obedient Old English būhsum, “pliable”, from būgan “to bend, bow”. It drifted from yielding to lively and then, by the 1580s, to plump and comely.
- My dearest amateur, you once meant a lover French, from Latin amator “lover”. An amateur does a thing for the love of it, not for money.
- My dearest philosophy, you once meant the love of wisdom Greek philosophía, from phílos “loving” and sophía “wisdom”.
- My dearest husband, you once meant the master of a house Late Old English hūsbonda, from Old Norse húsbóndi, the house-dweller who owned the house. The married man came in about 1300; husbandry kept the older sense.
- My dearest bridegroom, you once meant the bride’s man Old English brȳdguma, with guma “man”, a cousin of Latin homo. When guma died out, the word was reshaped in the 16th century to match groom, “serving lad”.
- My dearest spouse, you once meant the promised one Latin sponsus, “betrothed”, from spondere “to promise solemnly”, which also gives sponsor and respond.
- My dearest honeymoon, you once meant a month of sweetness Recorded in the 1540s: the first month of marriage, when love is sweetest, and which, like the moon, begins to wane as soon as it is full.