leman

English

Alternative forms

• lemman (13th-17th centuries)
• lemon (15th-16th centuries)

Etymology

From Middle English leofmon, lief + man

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈlɛmən/, /ˈliːmən/

Noun

leman (plural lemans)

1. (archaic) A lover, sweetheart, especially a secret lover or mistress.
   • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book VI:

     He wente that his lemman had layne in that bed, and so he leyde hym adowne by Sir Launcelot and toke hym in his armys and began to kysse hym.

   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, I.i:

     Faire Venus seemde vnto his bed to bring / Her, whom he waking euermore did weene, / To be the chastest flowre, that ay did spring / On earthly braunch, the daughter of a king, / Now a loose Leman to vile seruice bound [...].

   • 1819, Walter Scott, Ivanhoe:

     The prisoner I speak of is better booty — a jolly monk riding to visit his leman, an I may judge by his horse-gear and wearing apparel.