love

Meaning

Noun

1. (uncountable) A deep caring for the existence of another.
2. (countable, uncountable) Strong affection.
3. (countable, uncountable) Strong affection.
4. (countable, uncountable) Strong affection.
5. (countable, uncountable) Strong affection.
6. (countable) A person who is the object of romantic feelings; a darling, a sweetheart, a beloved.
7. (Commonwealth, colloquial, countable, uncountable) A term of friendly address, regardless of feelings.
8. (countable, uncountable) A thing, activity, etc. which is the object of one's deep liking or enthusiasm.
9. (countable, euphemistic, uncountable) Sexual desire; attachment based on sexual attraction.
10. (countable, euphemistic, uncountable) Sexual activity.
11. (countable, uncountable) An instance or episode of being in love; a love affair.
12. (countable, uncountable) Used as the closing, before the signature, of a letter, especially between good friends or family members, or by the young.
13. (alt-of, countable, uncountable) Alternative letter-case form of Love (“personification of love”).
14. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) A thin silk material.
15. (countable, uncountable) A climbing plant, Clematis vitalba.

Verb

1. (intransitive, sometimes, stative, transitive, usually) To have a strong affection for (someone or something).
2. (transitive) To need, thrive on.
3. (transitive) To be strongly inclined towards something; an emphatic form of like.
4. (intransitive, sometimes, transitive, usually) To seek the good or honor of (someone), care deeply about, to be dedicated to (someone or something).
5. (ironic, sometimes, transitive) To derive delight from a fact or situation.
6. (Internet) Synonym of heart (verb).
7. (euphemistic, transitive) To have sex with (perhaps from make love).

Verb

Alternative form of lofe (“to praise, sell”).

Opposite of

hate, hatred, angst, indifference

Synonyms

affection

like

desire

fondness

want

attachment

passion

friendship

enjoy

sweetheart

liking

be fond of

cherish

wish

fond of

darling

beloved

devotion

pity

kindness

adore

dear

lover

❤️

tenderness

fancy

value

appreciate

compassion

lust

charity

favor

care for

admire

sexual love

grace

amour

mercy

favour

adoration

make love

think highly of

think well of

endearment

caress

care

emotion

dearest

honey

🍯

sleep with

sympathy

Translations

amour

❤️

aimer

❤️

Liebe

❤️

amore

❤️

lieben

❤️

amor

❤️

amar

❤️

amare

❤️

amor

❤️

querer

αγάπη

liefde

❤️

amar

❤️

αγαπώ

Pronounced as (IPA)

/lʌv/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: love

Inherited from Old English: lufu

Inherited from Middle English: loven

Inherited from Old English: lufian

Cognate with Russian: любовь

Cognate with Latin: libido

Cognate with Polish: lubić

Cognate with Sanskrit: लोभ

In summary

From Middle English love, luve, from Old English lufu, from Proto-West Germanic *lubu, from Proto-Germanic *lubō, from Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ- (“love, care, desire”).
The close of a letter sense is presumably a truncation of With love or the like.
The verb is from Middle English loven, luvien, from Old English lufian (“to love”), from Proto-West Germanic *lubōn (“to love”), derived from the noun.
Eclipsed non-native English amour (“love”), borrowed from Norman amour (“love”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots luve (“love”), Saterland Frisian ljo, ljoo, ljoof (“dear, sweet”), Ljoote, Ljoowe (“love”), West Frisian leaf (“friendly, kind, cordial”), leafde (“love”), Dutch lief (“lovely, nice, sweet”), liefde (“love”), German lieb (“dear; lovable”), Liebe (“love”), German Low German Leevde, Lieve (“love”), Luxembourgish léif (“lovely, kind, nice, sweet”), Léift (“love”), Vilamovian łiwa (“love”), Yiddish ליב (lib, “nice; kind”), Icelandic ljúfur (“beloved, dear”), Norwegian Nynorsk, Swedish ljuv (“lovely, sweet”), Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌿𐍆𐍃 (liufs, “beloved, dear”), Albanian lyp (“to beg”), Russian любовь (ljubovʹ, “love”), Lithuanian liaupsė (“praise”), Latin libido (“desire, lust”), Polish lubić (“to like”), Persian آلفتن (âloftan, “to enamor”), Sanskrit लोभ (lobha, “desire, greed”).

Sentences

Love me , love my dog .

I love rhythm and blues !

The will reveals the existence of a love affair .

Maybe the alchemist has never been in love , the boy thought .

He is best known for his love of cheese , especially Wensleydale , and crackers .

If you're a fan of " The Simpsons ", you'll love this book .