amour

See also: Amour

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French amour.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /əˈmʊə/, /əˈmɔː/
• (US) IPA^(key): [ɑ.mɔɹ]

Noun

amour (countable and uncountable, plural amours)

1. (obsolete) Love, affection.
2. Courtship; flirtation.
   • 1926, F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, Penguin 2000, p. 75:

     Perhaps Daisy never went in for amour at all – and yet there's something in that voice of hers….

3. A love affair.
   • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, London: A[ndrew] Millar, OCLC 928184292:

     Jones had mentioned the fact of his amour, and of his being the rival of Blifil, but had cautiously concealed the name of the young lady.

   • 1990 October 26, Jerry Sullivan, “Field & Street”, in Chicago Reader‎^[1]:

     The amours of the greater scaup are, if anything, even more varied.

4. A lover.
   • 2000 December 29, James McManus, “The Winter Casino”, in Chicago Reader‎^[2]:

     Makes you wonder how they were able to see their amours, or their hands...

Related terms

• amorous
• metamour
• paramour

Anagrams

• Morua

---

French

Etymology

From Middle French amour, from Old French amor, from Latin amor. The regular phonetic development would be ameur, attested in Old French; there has probably been an influence from Old Occitan.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.muʁ/

• Audio (France, Paris)

  (file)

  ,

  Audio (France, Paris)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uʁ
• Homophone: amours

Noun

amour m (plural amours)

1. love
   • 1931, “J’ai deux amours”, performed by Josephine Baker:

     J’ai deux amours / Mon pays et Paris

   • 2008, Cécile Corbel (lyrics and music), “Where have you been”, in Songbook vol. 3 - renaissance‎^[3] (CD, in English and French), Brittany: Keltia Musique, performed by Cécile Corbel:

     Ô mon Amour
     Mes pensées sont en voyage
     Elles s’enroulent comme un ruban
     O my love I’ve been searching
     But I don’t know how
     To find my way in the world without you

     O my Love
     My thoughts are wandering
     They wind like a ribbon
     O my love I’ve been searching
     But I don’t know how
     To find my way in the world without you

Usage notes

• Though masculine when singular, the word amour is feminine when plural in the literary language.

Derived terms

• désamour

Related terms

Terms related to amour

• aimable
• aimer
• amant
• ami
• amical

• amitié
• amourette
• amoureux
• amour-propre

• à tes amours
• faire l'amour
• grand amour
• pomme d'amour

Further reading

• “amour” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

---

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French amor, from Latin amor.

Noun

amour m (plural amours)

1. love

Descendants

• French: amour

---

Norman

Etymology

From Old French amor, from Latin amor.

Noun

amour m (plural amours)

1. (Jersey) love