leman

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Contents

[edit] English

[edit] Alternative forms

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

[edit] Etymology

From Middle English leofmon, lief + man

[edit] Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈlɛmən/, /ˈliːmən/

[edit] 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.
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