English edit

Etymology edit

love +‎ -y +‎ dove +‎ -y

Adjective edit

lovey-dovey (comparative more lovey-dovey, superlative most lovey-dovey)

  1. (informal) Affectionate in a rather mushy or oversentimental fashion.
    • 1928, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter 14, in Lady Chatterley’s Lover, [Florence, Italy: [] Tipografia Giuntina, []], →OCLC; republished as Lady Chatterley’s Lover (eBook no. 0100181h.html)‎[1], Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, August 2011, archived from the original on 11 November 2020:
      And then when she'd put me right off, and I didn't want her, she'd come all lovey-dovey, and get me. And I always went.
    • 1979, “Life During Wartime”, in Fear of Music, performed by Talking Heads:
      This ain't no fooling around / No time for dancing, or lovey dovey / I ain't got time for that now

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