See also: løver and Lover

English

edit

Etymology 1

edit

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

Alternative forms

edit
  • lovyer (dialectal or obsolete)

Pronunciation

edit

Noun

edit

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[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene vi], 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[1], 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 [2]
      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
  4. (West Country, with "my") An informal term of address for any friend.
    All right, me lover?
Usage notes
edit
  • 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
edit
Compound words and expressions
Descendants
edit
  • German: Lover
Translations
edit

Etymology 2

edit

Noun

edit

lover (plural lovers)

  1. Obsolete form of louver.

Anagrams

edit

Dutch

edit

Alternative forms

edit

Etymology

edit

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

edit

Noun

edit

lover n (plural lovers, diminutive lovertje n)

  1. foliage

Synonyms

edit

Anagrams

edit

French

edit

Etymology

edit

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

edit

Verb

edit

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

edit

Further reading

edit

Anagrams

edit

Middle English

edit

Etymology 1

edit

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

Alternative forms

edit

Pronunciation

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

Noun

edit

lover (plural lovers)

  1. louver (type of turret)
Descendants
edit
References
edit

Etymology 2

edit

Noun

edit

lover

  1. Alternative form of lovere (friend, lover)

Norwegian Bokmål

edit

Noun

edit

lover m pl

  1. indefinite masculine plural of lov

Verb

edit

lover

  1. present tense of love

Norwegian Nynorsk

edit

Etymology 1

edit

Alternative forms

edit

Noun

edit

lover f pl

  1. indefinite feminine plural of lov

Etymology 2

edit

Verb

edit

lover

  1. present of lova