endearment

EnglishEdit

endearment (plural endearments)

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.
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
An expression of affection.
- 1902, Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton, chapter 18, in The Conqueror:
  When they were alone he called him "my boy," an endearment he never gave another.
Synonym: term of endearment

act or process of endearing

state of being endeared

an expression of affection