lover

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English lovere, luffer, lufere, equivalent to love +‎ -er.

Alternative forms

• lovyer (dialectal or obsolete)

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈlʌvɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈlʌvə/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: lov‧er
• Rhymes: -ʌvə(ɹ)

Noun

lover (plural lovers)

1. One who loves and cares for another person in a romantic way; a sweetheart, love, soulmate, boyfriend, girlfriend, or spouse.

   Synonyms: love, love interest, spouse, sweetheart, significant other; see also Thesaurus:lover

   • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, , page 170, column 2:

     […] loue is blinde, and louers cannot ſee / The pretty follies that themſelues commit, […]

   • 1976, Joni Mitchell (lyrics and music), “Song For Sharon”, in Hejira:

     Well there's a wide wide world of noble causes / And lovely landscapes to discover / But all I really want to do right now / Is find another lover

   • 2014 September 23, Elle King, Dave Bassett, “Ex's & Oh's”, in Love Stuff‎, performed by Elle King:

     Now, there's one in California who's been cursing my name / 'Cause I found me a better lover in the UK, hey, hey / Until I made my getaway

   • 2016, David Boulter, Stuart A. Staples (lyrics and music), “Like Only Lovers Can”, in The Waiting Room, performed by Tindersticks:

     We can only hurt each other the way that lovers can / So where do we go, where do we hide now?

2. A sexual partner, especially one with whom someone is having an affair.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:sexual partner

   • 2006, Peifer Yann, Reuter Manuel (lyrics and music), “Bad Boy”, in Everytime We Touch, performed by Cascada, →OCLC:

     Be my bad boy, be my man / Be my weekend lover, but don't be my friend / You can be my bad boy, but understand / That I don't need you in my life again

   • 2018 January 17, "Libra Woman: Personality Traits: Love & More", Astrology.com

     A Libra woman seems to always be in love - either with her long term partner or with an ever-changing series of rotating lovers.

3. A person who loves something.

   Synonym: connoisseur

   a lover of fine wines

   a lover of his/her own country

   • 1888–1891, Herman Melville, “[Billy Budd, Foretopman.] Chapter XVIII.”, in Billy Budd and Other Stories, London: John Lehmann, published 1951, →OCLC, page 279:

     But though a conscientious disciplinarian he was no lover of authority for mere authority's sake.

4. (West Country, with "my") An informal term of address for any friend.

   All right, me lover?

Usage notes

• In the 1980s and 1990s, the term "lover" was commonly used for a long-term committed romantic partner, particularly in the LGBTQ+ community. Subsequently, this usage has become less common, usually in favour of partner.

Derived terms

Descendants

• → German: Lover

Translations

Etymology 2

Noun

lover (plural lovers)

1. Obsolete form of louver.

Anagrams

• Vlorë

Dutch

Alternative forms

• loover (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle Dutch lover, originally the plural of loof. As with other words with plurals in -er, eventually this was substituted with -eren, creating loveren. This new plural was then reanalysed as a separate noun and a new singular form lover was back-formed from it.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈloː.vər/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: lo‧ver
• Rhymes: -oːvər

Noun

lover n (plural lovers, diminutive lovertje n)

1. foliage

Synonyms

• gebladerte
• lommer

Anagrams

• vloer

French

Etymology

A 17th century borrowing from North Sea Germanic language verb "lofen, lufen". The 1986 Dictionnaire de l'Académie française identifies the source as Low German (Dutch Low Saxon or German Low German); Jan de Vries' Nederlands Etymologisch Woordenboek (which identifies it as a possible cognate of Dutch leuver) suggests East Frisian instead.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɔ.ve/

• Audio

  (file)

Verb

lover

1. to coil (a rope or cord), to fake a line
2. (reflexive) to coil up, wind up; to curl up
   • 2019, Alain Damasio, chapter 2, in Les furtifs [The Stealthies], La Volte, →ISBN:

     Happant du linge et courbant le matelas, j’y ai rapidement fait mon nid et je me suis lové en boule à l’intérieur.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

3. (reflexive) to snuggle up to, to snuggle up against

Conjugation

Further reading

• “lover”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

Anagrams

• voler

Middle English

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old French lovier, lover, from Medieval Latin *lōdārium (attested as lōvārium), extension of lōdium, of unclear origin.

Alternative forms

• lovere, lowere, lovyre

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /luˈveːr/, /ˈluvər/, /loːˈveːr/, /ˈloːvər/

Noun

lover (plural lovers)

1. louver (type of turret)

Descendants

• English: louver, louvre, luffer
• Middle Scots: lewar

References

• “lǒver(e, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

Noun

lover

1. Alternative form of lovere (“friend, lover”)

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

lover m pl

1. indefinite masculine plural of lov

Verb

lover

1. present tense of love

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

• lovar m pl

Noun

lover f pl

1. indefinite feminine plural of lov

Etymology 2

Verb

lover

1. present of lova