amour

See also: Amour

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French amour.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˈmʊə/, /əˈmɔː/
• 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, volumes (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC:

     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
• enamour
• metamour
• paramour

Anagrams

• Morua, Omura

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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):

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  ,

  Audio (France, Paris):

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• Rhymes: -uʁ
• Homophone: amours

Noun

amour m or f (plural amours)

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

     J’ai deux amours / Mon pays et Paris

     I have two loves / My country and Paris

Usage notes

• Though masculine when singular, the word amour is feminine when plural in the literary language; the same applies to délice and orgue.

Derived terms

• amour platonique
• désamour

Related terms

• à tes amours
• aimable
• aimer
• amant
• ami
• amical
• amitié
• amour-propre
• amourette
• amoureux
• faire l’amour
• grand amour
• pomme d’amour

 

Further reading

• “amour”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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Middle French

Etymology

From Old French amor, from Latin amor.

Noun

amour m (plural amours)

1. love

Descendants

• French: amour

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Norman

Etymology

From Old French amor, from Latin amor.

Noun

amour m (plural amours)

1. (Jersey) love