lover

See also: løver

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English lovere, luffer, lufere, equivalent to love +‎ -er.

Alternative forms

• lovyer (dialectal or obsolete)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlʌvɚ/
• IPA^(key): /ˈlʌvə/
• Hyphenation: lov‧er
• Rhymes: -ʌvə(ɹ)

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

lover (plural lovers)

1. One who loves and cares for another person in a romantic way; a sweetheart, love, soulmate, boyfriend, girlfriend or spouse.
   • Shakespeare

     Love is blind, and lovers cannot see / The pretty follies that themselves commit.

2. A sexual partner, especially one with whom someone is having an affair.
   • 2018 January 17, "Libra Woman: Personality Traits: Love & More", Astrology.com [1]

     A Libra woman seems to always be in love - either with her long term partner or with an ever-changing series of rotating lovers.

3. A person who loves something.
   • 1924, Herman Melville, Billy Budd, London: Constable & Co., Chapter 18, [2]

     But tho' a conscientious disciplinarian, he was no lover of authority for mere authority's sake.

   a lover of fine wines

   a lover of his/her own country

4. (West Country, with "my") An informal term of address for any friend.

   All right, me lover?

Synonyms

• (one who loves another person): love, love interest, spouse, sweetheart, significant other, see also Thesaurus:lover
• (sexual partner): See Thesaurus:sexual partner
• (person who loves something): connoisseur
• (any friend): See Thesaurus:friend

Derived terms

• book lover, booklover
• loverhood
• lover's lane / lovers' lane

Translations

one who loves another person

• Alviri-Vidari: عاشوق (āššuq)
• Arabic: عَاشِق m (ʕāšiq), مُحِبّ m (muḥibb), عَشِيق (ʕašīq)
• Armenian: սիրահար (hy) (sirahar)
• Azerbaijani: aşiq (az)
• Bashkir: ғашиҡ (ğaşiq)
• Belarusian: палюбо́ўнік m (paljubóŭnik), палюбо́ўніца f (paljubóŭnica), каха́нак m (kaxának), каха́нка f (kaxánka)
• Bulgarian: любо́вник (bg) m (ljubóvnik), любо́вница (bg) f (ljubóvnica)
• Catalan: amant (ca) m or f
• Cebuano: uyab
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 戀人／恋人 (zh) (liànrén), 恋人 (zh) (liànrén), 情人 (zh) (qíngrén), 愛人／爱人 (zh) (àirén), 爱人 (zh) (àiren)

• Crimean Tatar: sevgili, (northern dialect) süygili
• Czech: milenec (cs) m, milenka (cs) f
• Danish: elsker c, elskerinde c
• Dutch: minnaar (nl) m, minnares (nl) f
• Esperanto: amanto, amantino
• Finnish: rakastaja (fi), rakas (fi)
• French: amoureux (fr) m, amoureuse (fr) f
• Galician: amador m, amante (gl) m or f
• Georgian: შეყვარებული (šeq̇varebuli)
• German: Geliebter (de) m, Geliebte (de) f
• Greek: εραστής (el) m (erastís), ερωμένη (el) f (eroméni)

  Ancient Greek: ἐραστής m (erastḗs)

• Hindi: प्रेमी (hi) m (premī), प्रेमिका f (premikā)
• Hungarian: szerelem (hu) (only with possessive suffixes in this sense), kedves (hu), pár (hu)
• Italian: amante (it) m or f
• Japanese: 恋人 (ja) (こいびと, koibito), 恋人 (ja) (あいじん, aijin)
• Kazakh: ашына (aşyna)
• Korean: 애인 (ko) (aein) (愛人 (ko))
• Latin: amāns (la) m or f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Macedonian: љубовник m (ljubovnik), љубовница f (ljubovnica)
• Maori: whakaaweawe, kairoro, ipo, tahu, tau (mi), tau o te ate, makai, whaiāipo
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: elsker (no) m (male), elskerinne m or f (female)

• Novial:
• Old English: lufiend m
• Old Occitan: amador m
• Persian: عاشق (fa) ('âšeq), دوستدار (fa) (dustdâr), خاطرخواه (fa) (xâter-xâh), دلداده (fa) (deldâde)
• Portuguese: amante (pt) m or f
• Romanian: iubit (ro) m, iubită (ro) f, amant (ro) m, amantă (ro) f
• Russian: любо́вник (ru) m (ljubóvnik), любо́вница (ru) f (ljubóvnica), возлю́бленный (ru) m (vozljúblennyj), возлю́бленная (ru) f (vozljúblennaja), влюблённый (ru) m (vljubljónnyj), влюблённая (ru) f (vljubljónnaja) (enamoured)
• Scottish Gaelic: leannan m, gràdh (gd) m, cuspair m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: љубавник m, љубавница f, швалер m, швалерка f

  Roman: ljubavnik (sh) m, ljubavnica (sh) f, švaler (sh) m, švalerka (sh) f

• Slovak: milenec m, milenka (sk) f
• Slovene: ljubimec (sl) m
• Spanish: amante (es) m or f, enamorado (es) m, enamorada (es) f
• Swahili: mpenzi (sw)
• Swedish: älskare (sv) m, älskarinna (sv) f, älskande (sv) c
• Tajik: ошиқ (ošiq)
• Telugu: ప్రియుడు (te) (priyuḍu) (male), ప్రియురాలు (te) (priyurālu) (female)
• Thai: คู่รัก (th) (kûu-rák), คนรัก (kon-rák)
• Tok Pisin: pren
• Turkish: âşık (tr)
• Ukrainian: коха́нок (uk) m (koxánok), коха́нець (uk) m (koxánecʹ), коха́нка (uk) f (koxánka)
• Urdu: عاشق (ur) m ('āšiq)
• Vietnamese: người yêu (vi) (𠊛𢞅)
• Welsh: cariad (cy) m or f
• Yup'ik: kenkesteka

sexual partner

• Albanian: dashnor (sq) m, dashnore (sq) f
• Arabic: عَاشِق m (ʕāšiq), مُحِبّ m (muḥibb), عَشِيق (ʕašīq)
• Armenian: սիրած (hy) (sirac), սիրեկան (hy) (sirekan) (male), սիրուհի (hy) (siruhi) (female)
• Belarusian: палюбо́ўнік m (paljubóŭnik), палюбо́ўніца f (paljubóŭnica), каха́нак m (kaxának), каха́нка f (kaxánka)
• Bulgarian: любо́вник (bg) m (ljubóvnik), любо́вница (bg) f (ljubóvnica)
• Burmese: သယောက် (my) (sa.yauk) (of a woman), လင်ငယ် (my) (langngai) (of a woman)
• Catalan: amant (ca) m or f, amistançat (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 情人 (zh) (qíngrén)

• Czech: milenec (cs) m, milenka (cs) f
• Danish: elsker c, elskerinde c
• Dutch: minnaar (nl) m, minnares (nl) f
• Esperanto: amanto, amantino, amdonanto, amdonantino
• Finnish: rakastaja (fi)
• French: amant (fr) m, amante (fr) f
• Galician: amante (gl) m or f, amigo (gl) m, querido (gl) m
• Georgian: საყვარელი (saq̇vareli) (female)
• German: Liebhaber (de) m, Liebhaberin (de) f
• Greek: εραστής (el) m (erastís), ερωμένη (el) f (eroméni), αγαπητικός (el) m (agapitikós), αγαπητικιά (el) (agapitikiá)

  Ancient: ἐραστής m (erastḗs)

• Hungarian: szerető (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: amante (it) m or f
• Japanese: 愛人 (ja) (あいじん, aijin)
• Korean: 애인 (ko) (aein) (愛人 (ko))
• Latin: amāns (la), amator (la) m
• Macedonian: љубовник m (ljubovnik), љубовница f (ljubovnica)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: elsker (no) m (male), elskerinne m or f (female)

• Polish: kochanek (pl) m, kochanka (pl) f
• Portuguese: amante (pt) m or f
• Romanian: amant (ro) m, amantă (ro) f, ibovnic (ro) m (popular), ibovnică (ro) f (popular)
• Russian: любо́вник (ru) m (ljubóvnik), любо́вница (ru) f (ljubóvnica)
• Sanskrit: कामुक (sa) m (kāmuka)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: љубавник m, љубавница f

  Roman: ljubavnik (sh) m, ljubavnica (sh) f

• Slovak: milenec m, milenka (sk) f
• Slovene: ljubimec (sl) m, ljubimka f, ljubček m, ljubica f
• Spanish: amante (es) m or f
• Swahili: mpenzi (sw)
• Swedish: älskare (sv) c, älskarinna (sv) c
• Ukrainian: коха́нок (uk) m (koxánok), коха́нець (uk) m (koxánecʹ), коха́нка (uk) f (koxánka)
• Vietnamese: người tình bạn tình (𠊛𢞅)

person who loves something

• Arabic: مغرم
• Armenian: սիրահար (hy) (sirahar)
• Asturian: amante m or f
• Bulgarian: любо́вник (bg) m (ljubóvnik)
• Catalan: amant (ca) m or f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 愛好者／爱好者 (zh) (àihàozhě), 爱好者 (zh) (àihàozhě)

• Czech: milovník m, milovnice f
• Finnish: rakastaja (fi)
• Galician: amante (gl) m or f, amador m
• German: Kenner (de) m, Kennerin (de) f, -freund m, -freundin f, -liebhaber m, -liebhaberin f
• Greek: λάτρης (el) m or f (látris), θαυμαστής (el) m (thavmastís), θαυμάστρια (el) f (thavmástria)
• Hungarian: rajongó (hu), kedvelő (hu), barát (hu)
• Italian: amante (it) m or f
• Japanese: 愛好家 (あいこうか, aikōka)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: elsker (no) m

• Persian: عاشق (fa) ('âšeq)
• Polish: miłośnik (pl) m, miłośniczka (pl) f
• Portuguese: amante (pt) m or f
• Romanian: om iubitor m, persoană iubitoare f, fan (ro) m
• Russian: люби́тель (ru) m (ljubítelʹ), люби́тельница (ru) f (ljubítelʹnica)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ljubitelj (sh) m

  Cyrillic: љубитељ m

• Spanish: amante (es) m or f
• Swahili: mpenzi (sw)
• Telugu: ప్రేమికుడు (te) (prēmikuḍu) (male), ప్రేమికురాలు (prēmikurālu) (female)

Etymology 2

Noun

lover (plural lovers)

1. Obsolete form of louver.

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Dutch

Alternative forms

• loover (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle Dutch lover, originally the plural of loof. As with other words with plurals in -er, eventually this was substituted with -eren, creating loveren. This new plural was then reanalysed as a separate noun and a new singular form lover was back-formed from it.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈloː.vər/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: lo‧ver
• Rhymes: -oːvər

Noun

lover n (plural lovers, diminutive lovertje n)

1. foliage

Synonyms

• gebladerte
• lommer

Anagrams

• vloer

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French

Etymology

A 17th century borrowing from North Sea Germanic language verb "lofen, lufen". The 1986 Dictionnaire de l'Académie française identifies the source as Low German (Dutch Low Saxon or German Low German); Jan de Vries' Nederlands Etymologisch Woordenboek (which identifies it as a possible cognate of Dutch leuver) suggests East Frisian instead.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɔ.ve/

Verb

lover

1. to coil (a rope or cord), to fake a line
2. (reflexive, of a snake) to coil up, wind up; to curl up

Conjugation

Conjugation of lover (see also Appendix:French verbs)

infinitive	simple	lover
	compound	avoir + past participle
present participle or gerund1	simple	lovant /lɔ.vɑ̃/
	compound	ayant + past participle
past participle		lové /lɔ.ve/
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il, elle, on	nous	vous	ils, elles
(simple tenses)	present	love /lɔv/	loves /lɔv/	love /lɔv/	lovons /lɔ.vɔ̃/	lovez /lɔ.ve/	lovent /lɔv/
	imperfect	lovais /lɔ.vɛ/	lovais /lɔ.vɛ/	lovait /lɔ.vɛ/	lovions /lɔ.vjɔ̃/	loviez /lɔ.vje/	lovaient /lɔ.vɛ/
	past historic2	lovai /lɔ.ve/	lovas /lɔ.va/	lova /lɔ.va/	lovâmes /lɔ.vam/	lovâtes /lɔ.vat/	lovèrent /lɔ.vɛʁ/
	future	loverai /lɔ.vʁe/	loveras /lɔ.vʁa/	lovera /lɔ.vʁa/	loverons /lɔ.vʁɔ̃/	loverez /lɔ.vʁe/	loveront /lɔ.vʁɔ̃/
	conditional	loverais /lɔ.vʁɛ/	loverais /lɔ.vʁɛ/	loverait /lɔ.vʁɛ/	loverions /lɔ.və.ʁjɔ̃/	loveriez /lɔ.və.ʁje/	loveraient /lɔ.vʁɛ/
(compound tenses)	present perfect	present indicative of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
	past anterior2	past historic of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il, qu’elle	que nous	que vous	qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple tenses)	present	love /lɔv/	loves /lɔv/	love /lɔv/	lovions /lɔ.vjɔ̃/	loviez /lɔ.vje/	lovent /lɔv/
	imperfect2	lovasse /lɔ.vas/	lovasses /lɔ.vas/	lovât /lɔ.va/	lovassions /lɔ.va.sjɔ̃/	lovassiez /lɔ.va.sje/	lovassent /lɔ.vas/
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect2	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
simple		—	love /lɔv/	—	lovons /lɔ.vɔ̃/	lovez /lɔ.ve/	—
compound		—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—
1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en.
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way: past historic → present perfect past anterior → pluperfect imperfect subjunctive → present subjunctive pluperfect subjunctive → past subjunctive (Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• voler

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Middle English

Noun

lover (plural lovers)

1. lover

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Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

lover m

1. indefinite plural of lov

Verb

lover

1. present tense of love

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

• lovar

Noun

lover m or f

1. indefinite feminine plural of lov

Verb

lover

1. present of lova