endearment

EnglishEdit

Alternative formsEdit

EtymologyEdit

endear +‎ -ment

NounEdit

endearment (plural endearments)

  1. The act or process of endearing, of causing (something or someone) to be loved or to be the object of affection.
    • 1913, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 20, in The Vision Splendid:
      Every step of that walk led Jeff deeper into an excursion of endearment. It was amazingly true that he trod beside her an acknowledged friend, a secret lover.
  2. The state or characteristic of being endeared.
    • 1855, Elizabeth Gaskell, chapter 38, in North and South:
      He could not forget the fond and earnest look that had passed between her and some other man—the attitude of familiar confidence, if not of positive endearment.
    Synonym: belovedness
  3. An expression of affection.
    Synonym: term of endearment

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