love

love

synonyms, antonyms, definitions, examples & translations of love in English

English Online Dictionary. What means love‎? What does love mean?

English

Alternative forms

  • loue (obsolete typography)
  • luv

Pronunciation

  • enPR: lŭv
    • (Received Pronunciation, General American, Canada) IPA(key): /lʌv/
    • (General Australian) IPA(key): /lʌv/, [läv~lɐv]
    • (India) IPA(key): /lʌv/, [lɘʋ], [lɘv]
    • (Northern England, Ireland) IPA(key): /lʊv/
  • Rhymes: -ʌv

Etymology 1

From Middle English love, luve, from Old English lufu, from Proto-West Germanic *lubu, from Proto-Germanic *lubō, from Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ- (“love, care, desire”).

The close of a letter sense is presumably a truncation of With love or the like.

The verb is from Middle English loven, luvien, from Old English lufian (“to love”), from Proto-West Germanic *lubōn (“to love”), derived from the noun.

Eclipsed non-native English amour (“love”), borrowed from Norman amour (“love”).

Cognates include Russian любовь (ljubovʹ), Latin libido (“desire, lust”), Polish lubić and Sanskrit लोभ (lobha, “desire, greed”).

Noun

love (countable and uncountable, plural loves)

  1. (uncountable) A deep caring for the existence of another.
  2. (uncountable) Strong affection.
    Antonyms: hate, hatred, angst, indifference
    1. A profound and caring affection towards someone.
    2. Affectionate, benevolent concern or care for other people or beings, and for their well-being.
      • 1864, Utilitarianism Explained and Exemplified in Moral and Political Government:
        The love of your neighbor as yourself, is expressly given as the definition and test of Charity,—not alms-giving—and this love is [...] the highest of all the Divine commands[.]
    3. A feeling of intense attraction towards someone.
    4. A deep or abiding liking for something; an enthusiasm for something.
  2. (countable) A person who is the object of romantic feelings; a darling, a sweetheart, a beloved.
    Synonyms: baby, darling, honey, lover, pet, sweetheart; see also Thesaurus:sweetheart
  3. (colloquial, Commonwealth) A term of friendly address, regardless of feelings.
    Synonyms: mate, darling, lovey, sweetie, sweetheart
  4. A thing, activity, etc. which is the object of one's deep liking or enthusiasm.
  5. (euphemistic) Sexual desire; attachment based on sexual attraction.
    Synonyms: aphrodisia, carnality; see also Thesaurus:lust
  6. (euphemistic) Sexual activity.
    Synonyms: lovemaking, sex; see also Thesaurus:copulation
  7. An instance or episode of being in love; a love affair.
    Synonym: romance
  8. Used as the closing, before the signature, of a letter, especially between good friends or family members, or by the young.
  9. Alternative letter-case form of Love (“personification of love”).
    • c. 1810, Samuel Johnson (in The Works of Samuel Johnson):
      At busy hearts in vain love's arrows fly; [...]
  10. (obsolete) A thin silk material.
  11. A climbing plant, Clematis vitalba.
Translations

Verb

love (third-person singular simple present loves, present participle loving, simple past and past participle loved)

  1. (usually transitive, sometimes intransitive, stative) To have a strong affection for (someone or something).
  2. (transitive) To need, thrive on.
  3. (transitive) To be strongly inclined towards something; an emphatic form of like.
  4. (usually transitive, sometimes intransitive) To seek the good or honor of (someone), care deeply about, to be dedicated to (someone or something).
  5. (transitive, sometimes ironic) To derive delight from a fact or situation.
  7. (Internet) Synonym of heart (verb).
    Coordinate terms: like, unlike
  8. (transitive, euphemistic) To have sex with (perhaps from make love).
Conjugation
Synonyms
  • (have a strong affection for): adore, cherish; see also Thesaurus:love
  • (have sexual intercourse with): enjoy, go to bed with, sleep with; see also Thesaurus:copulate with
Antonyms
  • hate, despise, fear
Derived terms
Related terms
Descendants
  • Sranan Tongo: lobi
    • Aukan: lobi
    • Saramaccan: lóbi
Translations

See also

  • charity

Etymology 2

Now widely believed (due to historical written record) to be from the idea that when one does a thing “for love” it is for no monetary gain, the word “love” thus implying "nothing".

The former assumption that it had originated from French l’œuf (literally “the egg”), due to its shape, has largely been discredited and is no longer widely accepted. However, the apparent similarity of the shape of an egg to a zero has inspired similar analogies, such as the use of duck (reputed to be short for duck's egg) for a zero score at cricket, and goose egg for "zero".

Noun

love (uncountable)

  1. (racquet sports, billiards) Zero, no score.
  2. Nothing; no recompense.
Translations

Etymology 3

Verb

love (third-person singular simple present loves, present participle loving, simple past and past participle loved)

  1. Alternative form of lofe (“to praise, sell”)

References

  • “love”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
  • love in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
  • William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “love”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

Anagrams

  • levo, levo-, velo-, vole, voël

Czech

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈlovɛ]
  • Hyphenation: lo‧ve

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Romani love.

Noun

love f pl (indeclinable)

  1. (slang, cant) money
    Synonym: prachy

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

love m

  1. vocative singular of lov

Further reading

  • “love”, in Kartotéka Novočeského lexikálního archivu (in Czech)

Danish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈlɔːvə/, [ˈlɔːʋə], [ˈlɔːʊ]

Etymology 1

From Middle Low German lōve, from Proto-Germanic *galaubô, cognate with German Glaube.

Noun

love c

  1. (obsolete) trust, faith
    only in the phrase på tro og love (“solemnly”)

References

  • “love,1” in Den Danske Ordbog

Etymology 2

From Old Norse lofa, from Proto-Germanic *(ga)lubōną, cognate with Swedish lova (“to promise; to praise”), German loben (“to praise”), geloben (“to vow”), Dutch loven (“to praise”).

Verb

love (past tense lovede, past participle lovet)

  1. to promise
  2. (solemn) to praise
Conjugation

References

  • “love,2” in Den Danske Ordbog
  • “love,3” in Den Danske Ordbog

Etymology 3

See See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

love c

  1. indefinite plural of lov

Dutch

Pronunciation

Verb

love

  1. (dated or formal) singular present subjunctive of loven

Anagrams

  • velo, voel

French

Pronunciation

Verb

love

  1. inflection of lover:
    1. first-person /third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
    2. second-person singular imperative

Anagrams

  • vélo, vole, volé

Friulian

Etymology

From Latin lupa, feminine of lupus. Compare Venetan lova, French louve.

Pronunciation

Noun

love f (plural lovis)

  1. she-wolf

Related terms

  • lôf

Hunsrik

Etymology

Inherited from Middle High German loben, from Old High German lobōn, from Proto-West Germanic *lobōn, from Proto-Germanic *lubōną.

Cognate with German loben, Luxembourgish luewen.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈloːvə/
  • Rhymes: -oːvə
  • Syllabification: lo‧ve

Verb

love

  1. (transitive) to praise [with accusative]

Conjugation

Derived terms

References

Inari Sami

Etymology

From Proto-Samic *lokē

Numeral

love

  1. ten

Inflection

This numeral needs an inflection-table template.

Further reading

  • love in Marja-Liisa Olthuis, Taarna Valtonen, Miina Seurujärvi and Trond Trosterud (2015–2022) Nettidigisäänih Anarâškiela-suomakielâ-anarâškielâ sänikirje‎[2], Tromsø: UiT
  • Koponen, Eino, Ruppel, Klaas, Aapala, Kirsti, editors (2002–2008), Álgu database: Etymological database of the Saami languages‎[3], Helsinki: Research Institute for the Languages of Finland

Middle Dutch

Noun

lōve

  1. dative singular of lof

Middle English

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old English lufu, from Proto-West Germanic *lubu, from Proto-Germanic *lubō.

Alternative forms

  • lof, lofe, louf, luf, lufe, luff, luffe, luve
  • leove, lofve, lufæ (Early Middle English)

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈluv(ə)/, /ˈloːv(ə)/

Noun

love (plural loves)

  1. Love; strong and deep affection:
    1. Sexual or romantic desire (in humans and other animals)
    2. Theosis, sanctification, or love as a means to attain it.
  2. One who one loves; a loved individual:
    1. A lover; a sexual or romantic partner.
    2. A personification or embodiment of love.
    3. (Christianity) The Holy Spirit (or less often, God generally).
  3. A peace treaty; the ending of hostilities.
  4. (rare) Permission, consent.
Related terms
Descendants
  • English: love
  • Scots: luve, lufe
  • Yola: loove

References

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

Etymology 2

Inherited from Old English lāfe, oblique singular of lāf, from Proto-West Germanic *laibu, from Proto-Germanic *laibō; compare leven (“to halt”), which some forms are influenced by.

Alternative forms

  • lave, leve, loove
  • lafe, læve, loave (Early Middle English)

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈlɔːv(ə)/
  • (Northern) IPA(key): /laːf/, /ˈlaːv(ə)/

Noun

love (uncountable)

  1. The remainder or rest; that which is left.
  2. (rare) A widow; a woman whose husband has died.
    Synonyms: relicte, widwe
Descendants
  • English: lave
  • Scots: lave

References

  • “lōve, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Old Norse lófi, from Proto-Germanic *lōfô; compare glove.

Alternative forms

  • lof, loove, louf, luf, lufe, luff, luffe

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈloːv(ə)/, /loːf/

Noun

love (plural loves)

  1. (chiefly Northern) palm of the hand
Descendants
  • English: loof
  • Scots: luif, lufe, luff

References

  • “lọ̄ve, n.(3).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 4

Verb

love

  1. Alternative form of loven (“to love”)

Etymology 5

Verb

love

  1. Alternative form of loven (“to praise”)

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse lofa.

Verb

love (imperative lov, present tense lover, simple past and past participle lova or lovet, present participle lovende)

  1. to praise

Verb

love (imperative lov, present tense lover, simple past lova or lovet or lovte or lovde, past participle lova or lovet or lovt or lovd, present participle lovende)

  1. to promise
    (as an adjective) det lovede land - the Promised Land

Related terms

  • løfte

References

  • “love” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

love (present tense lovar or lover, past tense lova or lovde, past participle lova or lovt or lovd, present participle lovande, imperative lov)

  1. Alternative form of lova

Noun

love m (definite singular loven, indefinite plural lovar, definite plural lovane)

  1. Alternative form of lóve

Anagrams

  • vole

Romani

Noun

love

  1. plural of lovo
  2. money

Descendants

  • → French: lové
  • → Hungarian: lóvé
  • → Romanian: lovea
  • → Russian: лавэ́ (lavɛ́)
  • → Scots: lowie
  • → Serbo-Croatian:
    • Cyrillic script: ло́ва
    • Latin script: lóva
  • → Slovak: lóve

Serbo-Croatian

Noun

love (Cyrillic spelling лове)

  1. vocative singular of lov

Verb

love (Cyrillic spelling лове)

  1. third-person plural present of loviti

Swedish

Noun

love c

  1. (chiefly in compounds) wrist (connecting the hand to the forearm)

Declension

Derived terms

  • handlov

References

  • love in Svensk ordbok (SO)
  • love in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Bookmark
share
WebDictionary.net is an Free English Dictionary containing information about the meaning, synonyms, antonyms, definitions, translations, etymology and more.

Related Words

slovenia

loves

lovers

lover

lovely

Browse the English Dictionary

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

License

This article based on an article on Wiktionary. The list of authors can be seen in the page history there. The original work has been modified. This article is distributed under the terms of this license.