amorous
English
editEtymology
editFrom Middle English amorous, amerous (14th century), from Old French amoros, amoreus, from Vulgar Latin *amōrōsus, from Latin amor (“love”), related to amāre (“to love”). Compare French amoureux (“in love”). Doublet of amoroso and amoureux.
Pronunciation
edit- IPA(key): /ˈæ.mɹəs/, /ˈæ.mə.ɹəs/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - Rhymes: -æməɹəs
Adjective
editamorous (comparative more amorous, superlative most amorous)
- Inclined or having a propensity to love, or to sexual enjoyment.
- Synonyms: loving, fond, affectionate
- an amorous disposition
- We were both feeling amorous so the inevitable happened.
- 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, “Afterglow”, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC, page 168:
- Breezes blowing from beds of iris quickened her breath with their perfume; she saw the tufted lilacs sway in the wind, and the streamers of mauve-tinted wistaria swinging, all a-glisten with golden bees; she saw a crimson cardinal winging through the foliage, and amorous tanagers flashing like scarlet flames athwart the pines.
- Indicating love or sexual desire.
- She kept making these amorous suggestions.
- c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act III, scene ii:
- UUho when he ſhal embrace you in his arms
UUil tell how many thouſand men he ſlew.
And when you looke for amorous diſcourſe,
Will rattle foorth his facts of war and blood: […]
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto XI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, page 572:
- Long were to tell the amorous aſſayes,
And gentle pangues, with which he maked meeke
The mightie Mars, to learne his wanton playes:
- 1929, Robert Dean Frisbee, The Book of Puka-Puka, Eland, published 2019, page 218:
- There was no tune to it, only amorous gruntings like those of some old satyr who had furnished music for Circe's revels.
- Of or relating to, or produced by, love.
- She read me an amorous poem.
- (dated) Affected with love; in love; enamored.
- He had been amorous of her since schooldays.
Synonyms
editDerived terms
editRelated terms
editTranslations
editinclined to love
|
indicating love or sexual desire
|
of or relating to, or produced by, love
|
affected with love
|
References
edit- “amorous”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “amorous”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
Middle English
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editBorrowed from Old French amoros, from Vulgar Latin *amōrōsus; equivalent to amour + -ous.
Pronunciation
editAdjective
editamorous
- Amorous, loving (inclined to love or sex)
- Amorous, loving (indicating or related to love or lust)
- Amorous, enamoured; in love or lovestruck.
- (rare, by extension) Passionate, caring, kind.
Derived terms
editDescendants
editReferences
edit- “amorǒus, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Vulgar Latin
- English terms derived from Latin
- English doublets
- English 2-syllable words
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/æməɹəs
- Rhymes:English/æməɹəs/3 syllables
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English terms with collocations
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- English dated terms
- en:Love
- en:Sex
- Middle English terms borrowed from Old French
- Middle English terms derived from Old French
- Middle English terms derived from Vulgar Latin
- Middle English terms suffixed with -ous
- Middle English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English adjectives
- Middle English terms with rare senses
- enm:Love
- enm:Sex