What is the meaning of this word love

Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure.^[1][2] An example of this range of meanings is that the love of a mother differs from the love of a spouse, which differs from the love for food. Most commonly, love refers to a feeling of a strong attraction and emotional attachment.^[3][4][5]

Love is considered to be both positive and negative, with its virtue representing human kindness, compassion, and affection, as «the unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another» and its vice representing human moral flaw, akin to vanity, selfishness, amour-propre, and egotism, as potentially leading people into a type of mania, obsessiveness or codependency.^[6][7] It may also describe compassionate and affectionate actions towards other humans, one’s self, or animals.^[8] In its various forms, love acts as a major facilitator of interpersonal relationships and, owing to its central psychological importance, is one of the most common themes in the creative arts.^[9] Love has been postulated to be a function that keeps human beings together against menaces and to facilitate the continuation of the species.^[10]

Ancient Greek philosophers identified six forms of love: essentially, familial love (in Greek, Storge), friendly love or platonic love (Philia), romantic love (Eros), self-love (Philautia), guest love (Xenia), and divine or unconditional love (Agape). Modern authors have distinguished further varieties of love: unrequited love, empty love, companionate love, consummate love, infatuated love, self-love, and courtly love. Numerous cultures have also distinguished Ren, Yuanfen, Mamihlapinatapai, Cafuné, Kama, Bhakti, Mettā, Ishq, Chesed, Amore, Charity, Saudade (and other variants or symbioses of these states), as culturally unique words, definitions, or expressions of love in regards to a specified «moments» currently lacking in the English language.^[11][12][13]

Scientific research on emotion has increased significantly over the past two decades. The color wheel theory of love defines three primary, three secondary and nine tertiary love styles, describing them in terms of the traditional color wheel. The triangular theory of love suggests «intimacy, passion and commitment» are core components of love. Love has additional religious or spiritual meaning. This diversity of uses and meanings combined with the complexity of the feelings involved makes love unusually difficult to consistently define, compared to other emotional states.

Definitions

The word «love» can have a variety of related but distinct meanings in different contexts. Many other languages use multiple words to express some of the different concepts that in English are denoted as «love»; one example is the plurality of Greek concepts for «love» (agape, eros, philia, storge) .^[14] Cultural differences in conceptualizing love thus doubly impede the establishment of a universal definition.^[15]

Although the nature or essence of love is a subject of frequent debate, different aspects of the word can be clarified by determining what isn’t love (antonyms of «love»). Love as a general expression of positive sentiment (a stronger form of like) is commonly contrasted with hate (or neutral apathy). As a less-sexual and more-emotionally intimate form of romantic attachment, love is commonly contrasted with lust. As an interpersonal relationship with romantic overtones, love is sometimes contrasted with friendship, although the word love is often applied to close friendships or platonic love. (Further possible ambiguities come with usages «girlfriend», «boyfriend», «just good friends»).

Abstractly discussed, love usually refers to an experience one person feels for another. Love often involves caring for, or identifying with, a person or thing (cf. vulnerability and care theory of love), including oneself (cf. narcissism). In addition to cross-cultural differences in understanding love, ideas about love have also changed greatly over time. Some historians date modern conceptions of romantic love to courtly Europe during or after the Middle Ages, although the prior existence of romantic attachments is attested by ancient love poetry.^[16]

The complex and abstract nature of love often reduces discourse of love to a thought-terminating cliché. Several common proverbs regard love, from Virgil’s «Love conquers all» to The Beatles’ «All You Need Is Love». St. Thomas Aquinas, following Aristotle, defines love as «to will the good of another.»^[17] Bertrand Russell describes love as a condition of «absolute value,» as opposed to relative value.^{[citation needed]} Philosopher Gottfried Leibniz said that love is «to be delighted by the happiness of another.»^[18] Meher Baba stated that in love there is a «feeling of unity» and an «active appreciation of the intrinsic worth of the object of love.»^[19] Biologist Jeremy Griffith defines love as «unconditional selflessness».^[20]

Impersonal

People can be said to love an object, principle, or goal to which they are deeply committed and greatly value. For example, compassionate outreach and volunteer workers’ «love» of their cause may sometimes be born not of interpersonal love but impersonal love, altruism, and strong spiritual or political convictions.^[21] People can also «love» material objects, animals, or activities if they invest themselves in bonding or otherwise identifying with those things. If sexual passion is also involved, then this feeling is called paraphilia.^[22]

Interpersonal

Interpersonal love refers to love between human beings. It is a much more potent sentiment than a simple liking for a person. Unrequited love refers to those feelings of love that are not reciprocated. Interpersonal love is most closely associated with Interpersonal relationships.^[21] Such love might exist between family members, friends, and couples. There are also a number of psychological disorders related to love, such as erotomania.
Throughout history, philosophy and religion have done the most speculation on the phenomenon of love. In the 20th century, the science of psychology has written a great deal on the subject. In recent years, the sciences of psychology, anthropology, neuroscience, and biology have added to the understanding of the concept of love.

Biological basis

Biological models of sex tend to view love as a mammalian drive, much like hunger or thirst.^[23] Helen Fisher, an anthropologist and human behavior researcher, divides the experience of love into three partly overlapping stages: lust, attraction, and attachment. Lust is the feeling of sexual desire; romantic attraction determines what partners mates find attractive and pursue, conserving time and energy by choosing; and attachment involves sharing a home, parental duties, mutual defense, and in humans involves feelings of safety and security.^[24] Three distinct neural circuitries, including neurotransmitters, and three behavioral patterns, are associated with these three romantic styles.^[24]

Lust is the initial passionate sexual desire that promotes mating, and involves the increased release of chemicals such as testosterone and estrogen. These effects rarely last more than a few weeks or months. Attraction is the more individualized and romantic desire for a specific candidate for mating, which develops out of lust as commitment to an individual mate forms. Recent studies in neuroscience have indicated that as people fall in love, the brain consistently releases a certain set of chemicals, including the neurotransmitter hormones, dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, the same compounds released by amphetamine, stimulating the brain’s pleasure center and leading to side effects such as increased heart rate, loss of appetite and sleep, and an intense feeling of excitement. Research has indicated that this stage generally lasts from one and a half to three years.^[25]

Since the lust and attraction stages are both considered temporary, a third stage is needed to account for long-term relationships. Attachment is the bonding that promotes relationships lasting for many years and even decades. Attachment is generally based on commitments such as marriage and children, or mutual friendship based on things like shared interests. It has been linked to higher levels of the chemicals oxytocin and vasopressin to a greater degree than short-term relationships have.^[25] Enzo Emanuele and coworkers reported the protein molecule known as the nerve growth factor (NGF) has high levels when people first fall in love, but these return to previous levels after one year.^[26]

Psychological basis

Psychology depicts love as a cognitive and social phenomenon. Psychologist Robert Sternberg formulated a triangular theory of love and argued that love has three different components: intimacy, commitment, and passion. Intimacy is a form in which two people share confidences and various details of their personal lives, and is usually shown in friendships and romantic love affairs. Commitment, on the other hand, is the expectation that the relationship is permanent. The last form of love is sexual attraction and passion. Passionate love is shown in infatuation as well as romantic love. All forms of love are viewed as varying combinations of these three components. Non-love does not include any of these components. Liking only includes intimacy. Infatuated love only includes passion. Empty love only includes commitment. Romantic love includes both intimacy and passion. Companionate love includes intimacy and commitment. Fatuous love includes passion and commitment. Lastly, consummate love includes all three components.^[27] American psychologist Zick Rubin sought to define love by psychometrics in the 1970s. His work states that three factors constitute love: attachment, caring, and intimacy.^[28][29]

Following developments in electrical theories such as Coulomb’s law, which showed that positive and negative charges attract, analogs in human life were developed, such as «opposites attract». Over the last century, research on the nature of human mating has generally found this not to be true when it comes to character and personality—people tend to like people similar to themselves. However, in a few unusual and specific domains, such as immune systems, it seems that humans prefer others who are unlike themselves (e.g., with an orthogonal immune system), since this will lead to a baby that has the best of both worlds.^[30] In recent years, various human bonding theories have been developed, described in terms of attachments, ties, bonds, and affinities.
Some Western authorities disaggregate into two main components, the altruistic and the narcissistic. This view is represented in the works of Scott Peck, whose work in the field of applied psychology explored the definitions of love and evil. Peck maintains that love is a combination of the «concern for the spiritual growth of another,» and simple narcissism.^[31] In combination, love is an activity, not simply a feeling.

Psychologist Erich Fromm maintained in his book The Art of Loving that love is not merely a feeling but is also actions, and that in fact, the «feeling» of love is superficial in comparison to one’s commitment to love via a series of loving actions over time.^[21] In this sense, Fromm held that love is ultimately not a feeling at all, but rather is a commitment to, and adherence to, loving actions towards another, oneself, or many others, over a sustained duration.^[21] Fromm also described love as a conscious choice that in its early stages might originate as an involuntary feeling, but which then later no longer depends on those feelings, but rather depends only on conscious commitment.^[21]

Evolutionary basis

Evolutionary psychology has attempted to provide various reasons for love as a survival tool. Humans are dependent on parental help for a large portion of their lifespans compared to other mammals. Love has therefore been seen as a mechanism to promote parental support of children for this extended time period. Furthermore, researchers as early as Charles Darwin himself identified unique features of human love compared to other mammals and credit love as a major factor for creating social support systems that enabled the development and expansion of the human species.^{[citation needed]} Another factor may be that sexually transmitted diseases can cause, among other effects, permanently reduced fertility, injury to the fetus, and increase complications during childbirth. This would favor monogamous relationships over polygamy.^[32]

Adaptive benefit

Interpersonal love between a male and a female is considered to provide an evolutionary adaptive benefit since it facilitates mating and sexual reproduction.^[33] However, some organisms can reproduce asexually without mating. Thus understanding the adaptive benefit of interpersonal love depends on understanding the adaptive benefit of sexual reproduction as opposed to asexual reproduction. Michod^[33] has reviewed evidence that love, and consequently sexual reproduction, provides two major adaptive advantages. First, love leading to sexual reproduction facilitates repair of damages in the DNA that is passed from parent to progeny (during meiosis, a key stage of the sexual process). Second, a gene in either parent may contain a harmful mutation, but in the progeny produced by sex reproduction, expression of a harmful mutation introduced by one parent is likely to be masked by expression of the unaffected homologous gene from the other parent.^[33]

Comparison of scientific models

Biological models of love tend to see it as a mammalian drive, similar to hunger or thirst.^[23] Psychology sees love as more of a social and cultural phenomenon. Certainly, love is influenced by hormones (such as oxytocin), neurotrophins (such as NGF), and pheromones, and how people think and behave in love is influenced by their conceptions of love. The conventional view in biology is that there are two major drives in love: sexual attraction and attachment. Attachment between adults is presumed to work on the same principles that lead an infant to become attached to its mother. The traditional psychological view sees love as being a combination of companionate love and passionate love. Passionate love is intense longing, and is often accompanied by physiological arousal (shortness of breath, rapid heart rate); companionate love is affection and a feeling of intimacy not accompanied by physiological arousal.

Cultural views

Ancient Greek

Greek distinguishes several different senses in which the word «love» is used. Ancient Greeks identified four forms of love: kinship or familiarity (in Greek, storge), friendship and/or platonic desire (philia), sexual and/or romantic desire (eros), and self-emptying or divine love (agape).^[34][35] Modern authors have distinguished further varieties of romantic love.^[36] However, with Greek (as with many other languages), it has been historically difficult to separate the meanings of these words totally. At the same time, the Ancient Greek text of the Bible has examples of the verb agapo having the same meaning as phileo.

Agape (ἀγάπη agápē) means love in modern-day Greek. The term s’agapo means I love you in Greek. The word agapo is the verb I love. It generally refers to a «pure,» ideal type of love, rather than the physical attraction suggested by eros. However, there are some examples of agape used to mean the same as eros. It has also been translated as «love of the soul.»^[37]

Eros (ἔρως érōs) (from the Greek deity Eros) is passionate love, with sensual desire and longing. The Greek word erota means in love. Plato refined his own definition. Although eros is initially felt for a person, with contemplation it becomes an appreciation of the beauty within that person, or even becomes appreciation of beauty itself. Eros helps the soul recall knowledge of beauty and contributes to an understanding of spiritual truth. Lovers and philosophers are all inspired to seek truth by eros. Some translations list it as «love of the body».^[37]

Philia (φιλία philía), a dispassionate virtuous love, was a concept addressed and developed by Aristotle in his Nicomachean Ethics Book VIII.^[38] It includes loyalty to friends, family, and community, and requires virtue, equality, and familiarity. Philia is motivated by practical reasons; one or both of the parties benefit from the relationship. It can also mean «love of the mind.»

Storge (στοργή storgē) is natural affection, like that felt by parents for offspring.

Xenia (ξενία xenía), hospitality, was an extremely important practice in ancient Greece. It was an almost ritualized friendship formed between a host and his guest, who could previously have been strangers. The host fed and provided quarters for the guest, who was expected to repay only with gratitude. The importance of this can be seen throughout Greek mythology—in particular, Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.

Ancient Roman (Latin)

The Latin language has several different verbs corresponding to the English word «love.» amō is the basic verb meaning I love, with the infinitive amare («to love») as it still is in Italian today. The Romans used it both in an affectionate sense as well as in a romantic or sexual sense. From this verb come amans—a lover, amator, «professional lover,» often with the accessory notion of lechery—and amica, «girlfriend» in the English sense, often being applied euphemistically to a prostitute. The corresponding noun is amor (the significance of this term for the Romans is well illustrated in the fact, that the name of the city, Rome—in Latin: Roma—can be viewed as an anagram for amor, which was used as the secret name of the City in wide circles in ancient times),^[39] which is also used in the plural form to indicate love affairs or sexual adventures. This same root also produces amicus—»friend»—and amicitia, «friendship» (often based to mutual advantage, and corresponding sometimes more closely to «indebtedness» or «influence»). Cicero wrote a treatise called On Friendship (de Amicitia), which discusses the notion at some length. Ovid wrote a guide to dating called Ars Amatoria (The Art of Love), which addresses, in depth, everything from extramarital affairs to overprotective parents.

Latin sometimes uses amāre where English would simply say to like. This notion, however, is much more generally expressed in Latin by the terms placere or delectāre, which are used more colloquially, the latter used frequently in the love poetry of Catullus. Diligere often has the notion «to be affectionate for,» «to esteem,» and rarely if ever is used for romantic love. This word would be appropriate to describe the friendship of two men. The corresponding noun diligentia, however, has the meaning of «diligence» or «carefulness,» and has little semantic overlap with the verb. Observare is a synonym for diligere; despite the cognate with English, this verb and its corresponding noun, observantia, often denote «esteem» or «affection.» Caritas is used in Latin translations of the Christian Bible to mean «charitable love»; this meaning, however, is not found in Classical pagan Roman literature. As it arises from a conflation with a Greek word, there is no corresponding verb.

Chinese and other Sinic

Two philosophical underpinnings of love exist in the Chinese tradition, one from Confucianism which emphasized actions and duty while the other came from Mohism which championed a universal love. A core concept to Confucianism is 仁 (Ren, «benevolent love»), which focuses on duty, action, and attitude in a relationship rather than love itself. In Confucianism, one displays benevolent love by performing actions such as filial piety from children, kindness from parents, loyalty to the king and so forth.

The concept of 愛 (Mandarin: ài) was developed by the Chinese philosopher Mozi in the 4th century BC in reaction to Confucianism’s benevolent love. Mozi tried to replace what he considered to be the long-entrenched Chinese over-attachment to family and clan structures with the concept of «universal love» (兼愛, jiān’ài). In this, he argued directly against Confucians who believed that it was natural and correct for people to care about different people in different degrees. Mozi, by contrast, believed people in principle should care for all people equally. Mohism stressed that rather than adopting different attitudes towards different people, love should be unconditional and offered to everyone without regard to reciprocation; not just to friends, family and other Confucian relations. Later in Chinese Buddhism, the term Ai (愛) was adopted to refer to a passionate, caring love and was considered a fundamental desire. In Buddhism, Ai was seen as capable of being either selfish or selfless, the latter being a key element towards enlightenment.

In Mandarin Chinese, 愛 (ài) is often used as the equivalent of the Western concept of love. 愛 (ài) is used as both a verb (e.g. 我愛你, Wǒ ài nǐ, or «I love you») and a noun (such as 愛情 àiqíng, or «romantic love»). However, due to the influence of Confucian 仁 (rén), the phrase 我愛你 (Wǒ ài nǐ, I love you) carries with it a very specific sense of responsibility, commitment and loyalty. Instead of frequently saying «I love you» as in some Western societies, the Chinese are more likely to express feelings of affection in a more casual way. Consequently, «I like you» (我喜欢你, Wǒ xǐhuan nǐ) is a more common way of expressing affection in Mandarin; it is more playful and less serious.^[40] This is also true in Japanese (suki da, 好きだ).

Japanese

The Japanese language uses three words to convey the English equivalent of «love». Because «love» covers a wide range of emotions and behavioral phenomena, there are nuances distinguishing the three terms.^[41][42] The term ai (愛), which is often associated with maternal love^[41] or selfless love,^[42] originally referred to beauty and was often used in a religious context. Following the Meiji Restoration 1868, the term became associated with «love» in order to translate Western literature. Prior to Western influence, the term koi (恋 or 孤悲) generally represented romantic love, and was often the subject of the popular Man’yōshū Japanese poetry collection.^[41] Koi describes a longing for a member of the opposite sex and is typically interpreted as selfish and wanting.^[42] The term’s origins come from the concept of lonely solitude as a result of separation from a loved one. Though modern usage of koi focuses on sexual love and infatuation, the Manyō used the term to cover a wider range of situations, including tenderness, benevolence, and material desire.^[41] The third term, ren’ai (恋愛), is a more modern construction that combines the kanji characters for both ai and koi, though its usage more closely resembles that of koi in the form of romantic love.^[41][42] Amae (甘え), referring to the desire to be loved and cared for by an authority figure, is another important aspect of Japan’s cultural perspective on love, and has been analysed in detail in Takeo Doi’s The Anatomy of Dependence^[43]

Indian

In contemporary literature, the Sanskrit words for love is «sneha». Other terms such as Priya refers to innocent love, Prema refers to spiritual love, and Kama refers usually to sexual desire.^[44][45] However, the term also refers to any sensory enjoyment, emotional attraction and aesthetic pleasure such as from arts, dance, music, painting, sculpture and nature.^[46][47]

The concept of kama is found in some of the earliest known verses in Vedas. For example, Book 10 of Rig Veda describes the creation of the universe from nothing by the great heat. There in hymn 129, it states:

कामस्तदग्रे समवर्तताधि मनसो रेतः परथमं यदासीत |
सतो बन्धुमसति निरविन्दन हर्दि परतीष्याकवयो मनीषा ||^[48]

Thereafter rose Desire in the beginning, Desire the primal seed and germ of Spirit,
Sages who searched with their heart’s thought discovered the existent’s kinship in the non-existent.

Persian

Rumi, Hafiz, and Sa’di are icons of the passion and love that the Persian culture and language present.^{[citation needed]} The Persian word for love is Ishq, which is derived from Arabic language; however, it is considered by most to be too stalwart a term for interpersonal love and is more commonly substituted for «doost dashtan» («liking»).^{[citation needed]} In the Persian culture, everything is encompassed by love and all is for love, starting from loving friends and family, husbands and wives, and eventually reaching the divine love that is the ultimate goal in life.^{[citation needed]}

Religious views

Abrahamic

Judaism

In Hebrew, אהבה (ahava) is the most commonly used term for both interpersonal love and love between God and God’s creations. Chesed, often translated as loving-kindness, is used to describe many forms of love between human beings.

The commandment to love other people is given in the Torah, which states, «Love your neighbor like yourself» (Leviticus 19:18). The Torah’s commandment to love God «with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might» (Deuteronomy 6:5) is taken by the Mishnah (a central text of the Jewish oral law) to refer to good deeds, willingness to sacrifice one’s life rather than commit certain serious transgressions, willingness to sacrifice all of one’s possessions, and being grateful to the Lord despite adversity (tractate Berachoth 9:5). Rabbinic literature differs as to how this love can be developed, e.g., by contemplating divine deeds or witnessing the marvels of nature.

As for love between marital partners, this is deemed an essential ingredient to life: «See life with the wife you love» (Ecclesiastes 9:9). Rabbi David Wolpe writes that «…love is not only about the feelings of the lover…It is when one person believes in another person and shows it.» He further states that «…love…is a feeling that expresses itself in action. What we really feel is reflected in what we do.»^[50] The biblical book Song of Solomon is considered a romantically phrased metaphor of love between God and his people, but in its plain reading, reads like a love song. The 20th-century rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler is frequently quoted as defining love from the Jewish point of view as «giving without expecting to take» (from his Michtav me-Eliyahu, Vol. 1).

Christianity

The Christian understanding is that love comes from God, who is himself love (1 John 4:8). The love of man and woman—eros in Greek—and the unselfish love of others (agape), are often contrasted as «descending» and «ascending» love, respectively, but are ultimately the same thing.^[51]

There are several Greek words for «love» that are regularly referred to in Christian circles.

• Agape: In the New Testament, agapē is charitable, selfless, altruistic, and unconditional. It is parental love, seen as creating goodness in the world; it is the way God is seen to love humanity, and it is seen as the kind of love that Christians aspire to have for one another.^[37]
• Phileo: Also used in the New Testament, phileo is a human response to something that is found to be delightful. Also known as «brotherly love.»
• Two other words for love in the Greek language, eros (sexual love) and storge (child-to-parent love), were never used in the New Testament.^[37]

Christians believe that to Love God with all your heart, mind, and strength and Love your neighbor as yourself are the two most important things in life (the greatest commandment of the Jewish Torah, according to Jesus; cf. Gospel of Mark chapter 12, verses 28–34). Saint Augustine summarized this when he wrote «Love God, and do as thou wilt.»

The Apostle Paul glorified love as the most important virtue of all. Describing love in the famous poetic interpretation in 1 Corinthians, he wrote, «Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres.»^[52]

The Apostle John wrote, «For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.» (John 3:16–17, NIV) John also wrote, «Dear friends, let us love one another for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.»^[53]

Saint Augustine wrote that one must be able to decipher the difference between love and lust. Lust, according to Saint Augustine, is an overindulgence, but to love and be loved is what he has sought for his entire life. He even says, «I was in love with love.» Finally, he does fall in love and is loved back, by God. Saint Augustine says the only one who can love you truly and fully is God, because love with a human only allows for flaws such as «jealousy, suspicion, fear, anger, and contention.» According to Saint Augustine, to love God is «to attain the peace which is yours.» (Saint Augustine’s Confessions)

Augustine regards the duplex commandment of love in Matthew 22 as the heart of Christian faith and the interpretation of the Bible. After the review of Christian doctrine, Augustine treats the problem of love in terms of use and enjoyment until the end of Book I of De Doctrina Christiana (1.22.21–1.40.44;).^[54]

Christian theologians see God as the source of love, which is mirrored in humans and their own loving relationships. Influential Christian theologian C. S. Lewis wrote a book called The Four Loves. Benedict XVI named his first encyclical God is love. He said that a human being, created in the image of God, who is love, is able to practice love; to give himself to God and others (agape) and by receiving and experiencing God’s love in contemplation (eros). This life of love, according to him, is the life of the saints such as Teresa of Calcutta and Mary, the mother of Jesus and is the direction Christians take when they believe that God loves them.^[51]

Pope Francis taught that «True love is both loving and letting oneself be loved…what is important in love is not our loving, but allowing ourselves to be loved by God.»^[55] And so, in the analysis of a Catholic theologian, for Pope Francis, «the key to love…is not our activity. It is the activity of the greatest, and the source, of all the powers in the universe: God’s.»^[56]

In Christianity the practical definition of love is summarised by Thomas Aquinas, who defined love as «to will the good of another,» or to desire for another to succeed.^[17] This is an explanation of the Christian need to love others, including their enemies. As Thomas Aquinas explains, Christian love is motivated by the need to see others succeed in life, to be good people.

Regarding love for enemies, Jesus is quoted in the Gospel of Matthew:

«You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.»^[57]

Do not forget to love with forgiveness, Christ saved an adulterous woman from those who would stone her. A world of wronged hypocrites needs forgiving love. Mosaic Law would hold Deuteronomy 22:22-24 «If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then both of them shall die—the man that lay with the woman, and the woman; so you shall put away the evil from Israel. If a young woman who is a virgin is betrothed to a husband, and a man finds her in the city and lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he humbled his neighbor’s wife; so you shall put away the evil from among you.»

Tertullian wrote regarding love for enemies: «Our individual, extraordinary, and perfect goodness consists in loving our enemies. To love one’s friends is common practice, to love one’s enemies only among Christians.»^[58]

Islam

Love encompasses the Islamic view of life as universal brotherhood that applies to all who hold faith. Amongst the 99 names of God (Allah), there is the name Al-Wadud, or «the Loving One,» which is found in Surah ^{[ 11:90]} as well as Surah ^{[ 85:14]}. God is also referenced at the beginning of every chapter in the Qur’an as Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim, or the «Most Compassionate» and the «Most Merciful», indicating that nobody is more loving, compassionate and benevolent than God. The Qur’an refers to God as being «full of loving kindness.»

The Qur’an exhorts Muslim believers to treat all people, those who have not persecuted them, with birr or «deep kindness» as stated in Surah ^{[ 6:8-9]}. Birr is also used by the Qur’an in describing the love and kindness that children must show to their parents.

Ishq, or divine love, is the emphasis of Sufism in the Islamic tradition. Practitioners of Sufism believe that love is a projection of the essence of God to the universe. God desires to recognize beauty, and as if one looks at a mirror to see oneself, God «looks» at himself within the dynamics of nature. Since everything is a reflection of God, the school of Sufism practices seeing the beauty inside the apparently ugly. Sufism is often referred to as the religion of love.^[59] God in Sufism is referred to in three main terms, which are the Lover, Loved, and Beloved, with the last of these terms being often seen in Sufi poetry. A common viewpoint of Sufism is that through love, humankind can get back to its inherent purity and grace. The saints of Sufism are infamous for being «drunk» due to their love of God; hence, the constant reference to wine in Sufi poetry and music.

Bahá’í Faith

In his Paris Talks, `Abdu’l-Bahá described four types of love: the love that flows from God to human beings; the love that flows from human beings to God; the love of God towards the Self or Identity of God; and the love of human beings for human beings.^[60]

Dharmic

Buddhism

In Buddhism, Kāma is sensuous, sexual love. It is an obstacle on the path to enlightenment, since it is selfish. Karuṇā is compassion and mercy, which reduces the suffering of others. It is complementary to wisdom and is necessary for enlightenment. Adveṣa and mettā are benevolent love. This love is unconditional and requires considerable self-acceptance. This is quite different from ordinary love, which is usually about attachment and sex and which rarely occurs without self-interest. Instead, in Buddhism it refers to detachment and unselfish interest in others’ welfare.

The Bodhisattva ideal in Mahayana Buddhism involves the complete renunciation of oneself in order to take on the burden of a suffering world.

Hinduism

In Hinduism, kāma is pleasurable, sexual love, personified by the god Kamadeva. For many Hindu schools, it is the third end (Kama) in life. Kamadeva is often pictured holding a bow of sugar cane and an arrow of flowers; he may ride upon a great parrot. He is usually accompanied by his consort Rati and his companion Vasanta, lord of the spring season. Stone images of Kamadeva and Rati can be seen on the door of the Chennakeshava temple at Belur, in Karnataka, India. Maara is another name for kāma.

In contrast to kāma, prema – or prem – refers to elevated love. Karuna is compassion and mercy, which impels one to help reduce the suffering of others. Bhakti is a Sanskrit term, meaning «loving devotion to the supreme God.» A person who practices bhakti is called a bhakta. Hindu writers, theologians, and philosophers have distinguished nine forms of bhakti, which can be found in the Bhagavata Purana and works by Tulsidas. The philosophical work Narada Bhakti Sutras, written by an unknown author (presumed to be Narada), distinguishes eleven forms of love.

In certain Vaishnava sects within Hinduism, attaining unadulterated, unconditional and incessant love for Godhead is considered the foremost goal of life. Gaudiya Vaishnavas who worship Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the cause of all causes consider Love for Godhead (Prema) to act in two ways: sambhoga and vipralambha (union and separation)—two opposites.^[61]

In the condition of separation, there is an acute yearning for being with the beloved and in the condition of union, there is supreme happiness and nectarean. Gaudiya Vaishnavas consider that Krishna-prema (Love for Godhead) is not fire but that it still burns away one’s material desires. They consider that Kṛṣṇa-prema is not a weapon, but it still pierces the heart. It is not water, but it washes away everything—one’s pride, religious rules, and one’s shyness. Krishna-prema is considered to make one drown in the ocean of transcendental ecstasy and pleasure. The love of Radha, a cowherd girl, for Krishna is often cited as the supreme example of love for Godhead by Gaudiya Vaishnavas. Radha is considered to be the internal potency of Krishna, and is the supreme lover of Godhead. Her example of love is considered to be beyond the understanding of material realm as it surpasses any form of selfish love or lust that is visible in the material world. The reciprocal love between Radha (the supreme lover) and Krishna (God as the Supremely Loved) is the subject of many poetic compositions in India such as the Gita Govinda and Hari Bhakti Shuddhodhaya.

In the Bhakti tradition within Hinduism, it is believed that execution of devotional service to God leads to the development of Love for God (taiche bhakti-phale krsne prema upajaya), and as love for God increases in the heart, the more one becomes free from material contamination (krishna-prema asvada haile, bhava nasa paya). Being perfectly in love with God or Krishna makes one perfectly free from material contamination. and this is the ultimate way of salvation or liberation. In this tradition, salvation or liberation is considered inferior to love, and just an incidental by-product. Being absorbed in Love for God is considered to be the perfection of life.^[62]

Political views

Free love

The term «free love» has been used^[63] to describe a social movement that rejects marriage, which is seen as a form of social bondage. The free love movement’s initial goal was to separate the state from sexual matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery. It claimed that such issues were the concern of the people involved, and no one else.^[64]

Many people in the early 19th century believed that marriage was an important aspect of life to «fulfill earthly human happiness.» Middle-class Americans wanted the home to be a place of stability in an uncertain world. This mentality created a vision of strongly defined gender roles, which provoked the advancement of the free love movement as a contrast.^[65]

Advocates of free love had two strong beliefs: opposition to the idea of forceful sexual activity in a relationship and advocacy for a woman to use her body in any way that she pleases.^[66] These are also beliefs of feminism.^[67]

Philosophical views

The philosophy of love is a field of social philosophy and ethics that attempts to explain the nature of love.^[68] The philosophical investigation of love includes the tasks of distinguishing between the various kinds of personal love, asking if and how love is or can be justified, asking what the value of love is, and what impact love has on the autonomy of both the lover and the beloved.^[67]

See also

• Color wheel theory of love
• Human bonding
• Love at first sight
• Love-in
• Pair bond
• Polyamory
• Relationship science
• Romance (love)
• Self-love
• Social connection
• Traditional forms, Agape, Philia, Philautia, Storge, Eros: Greek terms for love

References

Sources

Further reading

• Bayer, A, ed. (2008). Art and love in Renaissance Italy. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

External links

• History of Love, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• Friendship at Curlie
• Philanthropy at Curlie
• Romance at Curlie

Have you ever been in love? Have you ever told someone that you love them? 

This article will provide you with various definitions of love and teach you how to use them in a sentence. Then, it will talk about the origin of the word love and provide other useful information about the word love.

What Does the Word Love Mean?

According to Dictionary, love can be used as both a noun and a verb. As a noun, love means a strong affection or strong liking. Love can also refer to sexual love, which encompasses sexual attraction, infatuation, and romantic love. Love is pronounced lʌv.

Love can also be a verb and mean to have affection for another person. Love can either be a transitive verb or an intransitive verb. 

Love is also used in the phrase make love, which means to have sexual intercourse.

What Is The Etymology of Love?

The word love emerged in Middle English before the year 900 CE. This word comes from the Old English lufu and Old English lufian. This Old English term is a cognate with the Old High German luba/Old High German lubōn, Old Frisian luve/Old Frisian luvia, and the Gothic lubō. These come from the Latin lubēre, libēre, and leif.

What Are Examples of Love in a Sentence?

Love is a very common word that people can use in various ways. As you look at the below example sentences that contain the word love, see if you can determine if it is a noun or a verb, and which definition of love is being used. Then, tell someone you love them today!

After years of experiencing unrequited love, he was finally in a relationship for the first time. He was so excited to show his newfound love how much he cared for him.

While she was happy with her current relationship, she would always think of her first love as the great love affair of her life.

The love story told the tale of two human beings separated from each other by land, religion, and family. Yet, they were determined to find a way for their love to work.

Under Cupid’s influence, the two decided to make love on Valentine’s Day.

His love of God made a life in the priesthood fulfilling and satisfying for him.

She wondered if people could really find true love at first sight or if that was something that people reserved for the movies.

They showed their brotherly love by holding a fundraiser for one of their friends who was down on his luck.

The love song she wrote did not talk about love in a traditional sense, but the type of love you feel for a community.

What Are Translations of Love?

Love is a beautiful thing that you can discuss with people all over the world. To learn how to say the word love in languages, look at this list of translations of love from Nice Translator. Then, you can show how much you love people around the world!

• Telugu: ప్రేమ
• Arabic: الحب
• Bengali: ভালবাসা
• Croatian: ljubav
• German: Liebe
• Portuguese (Brazil): amar
• Estonian: armastus
• Greek: αγάπη
• Hebrew: אהבה
• Tamil: காதல்
• Portuguese (Portugal): amar
• Russian: любовь
• Welsh: garwyd
• Urdu: محبت
• Ukrainian: любов
• Marathi: प्रेम
• Spanish: amor
• Danish: kærlighed
• Icelandic: ást
• Latvian: mīlestība
• Korean: 사랑
• Turkish: Aşk
• Slovak: láska
• Catalan: amor
• Filipino: Pag-ibig
• Vietnamese: yêu và quý
• Bulgarian: любов
• Japanese: 愛
• Kannada: ಪ್ರೀತಿ
• Lithuanian: meilė
• Basque: maite izan
• Czech: milovat
• Swedish: kärlek
• Slovenian: ljubezen
• Norwegian: kjærlighet
• Chinese (PRC): 爱
• Romanian: dragoste
• Chinese (Taiwan): 愛
• Hindi: प्यार
• Indonesian: cinta
• Swahili: Upendo
• Malay: suka
• Finnish: rakkaus
• Hungarian: szerelem
• Italian: amore
• Amharic: ፍቅር
• Serbian: љубав
• French: amour
• Malayalam: സ്നേഹിക്കുക
• Gujarati: પ્રેમ
• Dutch: Liefde
• Polish: miłość
• Thai: รัก

What Are Synonyms of the Word Love?

The word love is a fairly broad term. There are many more specific ways that you can refer to the type of love you feel for another person. 

To learn about the different ways to say love, reference this list of synonyms of love from Power Thesaurus. 

• admire
• adoration
• adore
• affair
• affection
• amour
• appreciate
• attachment
• babe
• bang
• be crazy about
• be fond of
• be intimate
• beloved
• bonk
• boyfriend
• care
• cherish
• crush
• darling
• dear
• dearest
• delight
• delight in
• desire
• devotion
• endearment
• enjoy
• fancy
• fondness
• friendship
• hold dear
• honey
• idolize
• infatuation
• kindness
• know
• like
• liking
• love affair
• loved one
• lovemaking
• lover
• make love
• paramour
• partiality
• passion
• penchant
• praise
• predilection
• regard
• regards
• relationship
• relish
• respect
• romance
• screw
• sweet
• sweetheart
• sweetie
• sympathy
• taste
• tenderness
• treasure
• want
• warmth
• worship

What Are Antonyms of the Word Love?

Do you ever feel the opposite of love for someone? If you do, you can use this list of antonyms of the word love from Power Thesaurus to describe how you feel. 

• abhor
• abhorrence
• abominate
• abomination
• abstain
• acrimony
• allergy
• animosity
• animus
• antagonism
• antipathy
• apathy
• aversion
• bad blood
• bad feeling
• bitterness
• cold-heartedness
• conflict
• contempt
• contrariety
• coolness
• criticize
• despise
• detest
• detestation
• disdain
• disfavor
• disgust
• disinclination
• dislike
• disliking
• displeasure
• disrelish
• dissatisfaction
• distaste
• enemy
• enmity
• execrate
• execration
• foe
• friction
• hate
• hatred
• horror
• hostility
• ill feeling
• ill will
• indifference
• loathe
• loathing
• malevolence
• malice
• mislike
• neglect
• odium
• opposition
• rage
• rancor
• repellency
• repugnance
• repulsion
• resentment
• revulsion
• scorn
• spite
• unfriendliness
• venom

Conclusion

The definition of love is a strong feeling of deep affection or emotional attachment. The word love can also refer to sexual passion or sexual desire. Love can be a noun or a verb in numerous different contexts. 

Have you ever felt love for another person, and in what way? 

Sources:

1. Love synonyms – 1 798 Words and Phrases for Love | Power Thesaurus  
2. Love antonyms – 850 Opposites of Love | Power Thesaurus 
3. Love | Nice Translator 
4. Love Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com 

“Love is a many splendored thing. Love lifts us up where we belong. All you need is love!”

Moulin Rouge – a movie all about love with their well-known quote, “the greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return”. The movie perfectly portrays how two people who were not allowed to be together would do everything in their willpower to love each other till they take their last breath.

That’s probably the general view of loving someone unconditionally that you would do everything and anything to be together. However, with over 7 billion people on this planet, not everyone will have the same definition. Love is a very diverse term. Everyone needs it in some way or another, and therefore, everyone has their own definition to what ‘love’ means to them.

Haikal, 12, Romantic, Adventurous

In my opinion, love is not how much you say ‘I love you’ but how much you can prove it’s true. It’s about how patient and kind you are, it does not include boasting, it is not how arrogant and rude you are.

Love means accepting a person with all their failures, stupidities, and their imperfection. For example, love means there is no more busy world, it’s always about priorities. You will always find times you feel the most important about.

So in conclusion, I think love is a variety of different feelings; it’s about accepting someone for who they are and have feelings and do whatever it takes to have their forgiveness or even their heart.

Joseph, 21, Withdrawn Over-Thinker

I don’t believe in love at first sight. Attraction at first sight, yes. Affection at first sight, perhaps. But love?

Love, to me, rests on the same cline as companionship. And companionship is the foundation of love. Respect, understanding, and enthusiasm are the pillars on which this foundation is built – not initial attraction, not initial perception.

I suppose I am, to an extent, a victim of the ‘mere-exposure effect,’ in which a preference for someone or something comes with familiarity. I was close friends with my girlfriend for seven years before ‘asking her out,’ and I truly think that this friendship has served as an excellent point of reference over the last two years.

Therein lies the crux of my contention: love is not the gunshot signaling that the race has begun, but nor is it the feeling of crossing the finishing line. Love is the race – the journey – itself. Cliché? Yeah, sort of, but I do think it holds that the muddy concept of ‘love’ cannot be confined to the claustrophobic space of initial meeting, and this casts heavy doubts over the idea of love at first sight.

I respect but can’t identify with the desire for ‘one night stands’ or ‘wicked hooks,’ or whatever lingo is being used these days to denote seemingly frivolous dealings with a significant (or not so significant) other. It simply isn’t in my personality to consider such physical interaction to be so detached from emotional connection.

Of course, that’s not to say that love is static; it is an ever-changing construct, arbitrarily named and largely blurred at its edges. For some people, love at first sight might both exist and be fruitful, and I’m totally fine with that. In fact, let me make an amendment to my opening statement: I don’t believe in love at first sight for me.

Love exists outside the realm of human relationships, but I think nuanced meaning clouds its existence. I love coffee, I love the fresh air, and I love poetry, but I’m not in love with them.

I am in love with my girlfriend.

Kirsty, 23, Secretly Sentimental

An important element of love is to love yourself. Accept yourself and embrace the parts of yourself that you don’t necessarily like about yourself. This is an important lesson in how to love someone else. If you love yourself, you can be more generous with the love you give to others. You find yourself feeling more fulfilled and more loved than you could possibly imagine. You’ll find yourself smiling at the thought of whoever it is that you find you love. Love means seeing flaws and accepting them as positive traits. You’ll feel a sense of completeness that you never knew you were lacking in the first place, and no matter how long you’ve been apart whether it be hours or months you’ll feel like you’re coming home.

Luke, 21, Avocado Enthusiast

To possess a true love for something, some place, some ideology or someone and feel the reciprocation is often perceived as a final hurdle on a pathway to utopia, ‘a hypothetical place or state of things where everything is perfect.’

If I were to use something as simple as an “avocado” as a representation of any human, object or place capable of being truly loved; love can be defined to me as the feelings you are overcome with when you stumble across one of these wonderful green oval-shaped specimens, one that is of perfect ripeness, far superior to any avocado you’ve found on the shelves before. So flawless that as your knife pierces through the delicate skin effortlessly leaving you two immaculate halves not only does your heart and mind constantly discover new boundaries of excitement but a level of contentedness and satisfaction settles in.

With a little feta cheese to accompany, all spread over the finest sourdough toast, and experienced in your own personal paradise, each bite brings forth feelings of invincibility and superiority that not a thing in the world can overcome the sheer happiness. I love avocados.

Sarah, 14, Open-Minded and Exciting

What is love to me? Love is something unconditional and can’t really be explained in words. Of course, I’ve never experienced it yet, but it’s something I wish to feel in my lifetime.

The best way you can really say it is, it’s a feeling that you can’t shake, no matter how hard you try. The feeling when you love that special someone or something you can never live without. The feeling to need them and protect them.

Love is when you look at that person, and your heart accelerates, you get goosebumps. Every time you touch them you feel the electricity radiating off the both of you. You can never feel selfish with them and sacrifice anything or everything if it means you can be with them for the rest of your life. It’s when that person makes you happy no matter how you’re feeling. No matter the gender, ethnicity or person.

But love isn’t easy, it comes with consequences and sacrifices that if you are willing to make you know you’ve found the right someone/something.

I know very few people who are truly, deeply, and madly in love with each other, and let me tell you every time I see that it gives me the shred of hope that there actually might be someone out there for me.

So that’s what love is to me. How bout you?

Sharvin, 19, Dog Lover

Everyone at a pinnacle point in their life has experienced love regardless if they were loved or have been loved. It’s an inevitable feeling that captures the heart with full on passion, infatuation, and desire. It comes in all sorts of forms like with family, friends or an intimate love. In my experience, love “feels so good but hurts so bad”, I went through many amazing memories of my life with the women I love but at the end, it will either end up a fairytale or just like a wrecking ball being swung at you at immense pace.

My love generally lies in the animal kingdom. Such exquisite creatures roaming on our planet for millions of years and have been proven a predominant significance. Dogs are my favorite, especially pugs, golden retrievers, shih tzu, and corgi’s! I have a pet dog that, in all honesty, feels like another younger sibling. Their presence is a remedy for sadness or stress; they will be there through your ups and downs, which clearly defines the term, “dogs are a man’s best friend”. They may be a little annoying at times when it comes to barking or pooping all over the house but hey they are not as privileged as humans to have an intellect.

Marina, 20, Classic and Eclectic

To me, love is the most powerful thing on this planet. It can make you go crazy, feel every emotion a human ought to feel all mixed together, it can make you sick, and it can also make you feel more alive than anything ever can. Whether it’s loving yourself or loving someone else (or even loving an idea or a thing), it will consume you and make you feel infinite.

To me, I know that love is the greatest thing out there – that without it, we are nothing. Something that pushes you to achieve it, no matter what others say or who stops you. It’s the happiness it can bring you when you’re feeling down and once taken away, that’s when you feel like everything has gone to hell.

To be frank, it is dangerous to love, but it’s a risk you should be willing to take. Love so deeply it overwhelms you. Once you fall in love with something or someone, you’ll know it. Trust me on this. It may take time, but it’ll be worth it. You just need to find your star.

Featured photo credit: Susanne Nilsson via flickr.com

English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

• loue (obsolete typography)

Pronunciation[edit]

• enPR: lŭv, IPA^(key): /lʌv/
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): [lʌv]
  • (General American) IPA^(key): [ɫʌv]
  • (General Australian) IPA^(key): [ɫäv~ɫɐv]
  • (India) IPA^(key): [lɘʋ], [lɘv]
  • (Northern England, Ireland) IPA^(key): /lʊv/
• Rhymes: -ʌv

Etymology 1[edit]

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 French amour (“love”).

Cognates include Russian любовь (ljubovʹ), Polish lubić and Sanskrit लोभ (lobha, “desire, greed”).

Noun[edit]

love (countable and uncountable, plural loves)

1. (uncountable) A deep caring for the existence of another.
2. (uncountable) Strong affection.

   Antonyms: hate, hatred, angst, indifference

   1. A profound and caring affection towards someone.

      A mother’s love is not easily shaken.

      My husband’s love is the most important thing in my life.

      • 1674, John Milton, Paradise Lost:

        He on his side / Leaning half-raised, with looks of cordial love / Hung over her enamoured.

      • 2014, S. Hidden, Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Mystical Perspectives on the Love of God (→ISBN)
   2. Affectionate, benevolent concern or care for other people or beings, and for their well-being.
      • 1864, Utilitarianism Explained and Exemplified in Moral and Political Government:

        The love of your neighbor as yourself, is expressly given as the definition and test of Charity,—not alms-giving—and this love is […] the highest of all the Divine commands[.]

      • 1963, King, Jr., Martin Luther, “A Tough Mind and a Tender Heart”, in Strength to Love‎^[1], New York: Pocket Books, published 1964, →OCLC, page 7:

        Through nonviolent resistance we shall be able to oppose the unjust system and at the same time love the perpetrators of the system. We must work passionately and unrelentingly for full stature as citizens, but may it never be said, my friends, that to gain it we used the inferior methods of falsehood, malice, hate, and violence.

   3. A feeling of intense attraction towards someone.

      I have never been in love as much as I have with you.

      • 1697, [William] Congreve, The Mourning Bride, a Tragedy. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, Act III, page 39:

        Heav’n has no Rage, like Love to Hatred turn’d, / Nor Hell a Fury, like a Woman ſcorn’d.

      • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

        The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again; for, even after she had conquered her love for the Celebrity, the mortification of having been jilted by him remained.

   4. A deep or abiding liking for something; an enthusiasm for something.

      My love of cricket knows no bounds.

      • 2012, Philip Auerswald, The Coming Prosperity, →ISBN:

        For three decades, the average number of miles driven by US motorists increased steadily. Then, in 2007, that steady climb was suddenly halted. […] What magic caused Americans to temper their longstanding love of the open road?

3. (countable) A person who is the object of romantic feelings; a darling, a sweetheart, a beloved.

   Synonyms: baby, darling, honey, lover, pet, sweetheart; see also Thesaurus:sweetheart

   • 1595, Edmund Spenser, Epithalamion

     Open the temple gates unto my love.

   • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:

     O love, dispatch all business, and be gone!

   • 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:

     ‘Oh, my love, my love!’ she murmured, ‘wilt thou ever know how I have loved thee?’ and she kissed him on the forehead, and then went and stood in the pathway of the flame of Life.

   • 1969, The Dubliners, Dirty Old Town:

     I met my love by the gasworks wall.

4. (colloquial, Commonwealth) A term of friendly address, regardless of feelings.

   Synonyms: mate, darling, lovey, sweetie, sweetheart

   Hello love, how can I help you?

5. A thing, activity, etc. which is the object of one’s deep liking or enthusiasm.
   • 1997 March, «Faces of Today’s Black Woman», in Ebony, volume 52, number 5, page 96:

     But it wasn’t until [Theresa M. Claiborne] went to ROTC training camp at the University of California at Berkeley that she discovered that flying was her first love. «Pilots talk about getting bit by the flying bug,» she says. «I thought, This is heaven.»

6. (euphemistic) Sexual desire; attachment based on sexual attraction.

   Synonyms: aphrodisia, carnality; see also Thesaurus:lust

   • 2013, Ronald Long, Men, Homosexuality, and the Gods, Routledge, →ISBN, page 3:

     The prospect that their cherished Greeks would have countenanced, much less honored, a love between men that expressed itself carnally, however, was not so easily assimilated.

7. (euphemistic) Sexual activity.

   Synonyms: lovemaking, sex; see also Thesaurus:copulation

   • 1986, Ben Elton & al., Blackadder II, «Bells»:

     —What think you, my lord, of… love?

     —You mean ‘rumpy-pumpy’.

8. An instance or episode of being in love; a love affair.

   Synonym: romance

   • 2014, E. L. Todd, Then Came Absolution, →ISBN:

     Maybe it was just a summer love, something with no future.

9. Used as the closing, before the signature, of a letter, especially between good friends or family members, or by the young.
10. Alternative letter-case form of Love (“personification of love”).
    • c. 1810,, Samuel Johnson (in The Works of Samuel Johnson):

      At busy hearts in vain love’s arrows fly; […]

11. (obsolete) A thin silk material.
    • 1664, Robert Boyle, Experiments and Considerations Touching Colours, […]

      Such a kind of transparency, as that of a Sive, a piece of Cyprus, or a Love-Hood.

12. A climbing plant, Clematis vitalba.

Translations[edit]

Verb[edit]

love (third-person singular simple present loves, present participle loving, simple past and past participle loved)

1. (usually transitive, sometimes intransitive, stative) To have a strong affection for (someone or something).

   • 1918 September–November, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “The Land That Time Forgot”, in The Blue Book Magazine, Chicago, Ill.: Story-press Corp., →OCLC; republished as chapter VI, in Hugo Gernsback, editor, Amazing Stories, volume 1, New York, N.Y.: Experimenter Publishing, 1927, →OCLC:

     wanted to take her in my arms and tell her how I loved her, and had taken her hand from the rail and started to draw her toward me when Olson came blundering up on deck with his bedding.

   • 2013 February 26, Pink and Nate Ruess, Just Give Me a Reason:

     Just give me a reason, / just a little bit’s enough, / just a second we’re not broken, just bent / and we can learn to love again.

   I love my spouse.   I love you!   I love that song!

2. (transitive) To need, thrive on.

   Mold loves moist, dark places.

3. (transitive) To be strongly inclined towards something; an emphatic form of like.

   I love walking barefoot on wet grass;  I’d love to join the team;  I love what you’ve done with your hair
4. (usually transitive, sometimes intransitive) To care deeply about, to be dedicated to (someone or something).
   • John 3:16

     For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

   • Matthew: 22:37-38

     You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, and your whole mind, and your whole soul; you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

   • 2013 June 21, Oliver Burkeman, “The tao of tech”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 27:

     The dirty secret of the internet is that all this distraction and interruption is immensely profitable. Web companies like to boast about […] offering services that let you […] «share the things you love with the world» and so on. But the real way to build a successful online business is to be better than your rivals at undermining people’s control of their own attention.

5. (transitive) To derive delight from a fact or situation.

   I love the fact that the coffee shop now offers fat-free chai latte.

6. (transitive, euphemistic) To have sex with (perhaps from make love).

   I wish I could love her all night long.

Conjugation[edit]

Synonyms[edit]

• (have a strong affection for): adore, cherish; see also Thesaurus:love
• (have sexual intercourse with): enjoy, go to bed with, sleep with; see also Thesaurus:copulate with

Antonyms[edit]

• hate, despise, fear

Derived terms[edit]

[edit]

Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

• charity

Etymology 2[edit]

Now widely believed (due to historical written record) to be from the idea that when one does a thing “for love”, that is for no monetary gain, the word “love” implying «nothing».

The former assumption that it had originated from French l’œuf (literally “the egg”), due to its shape, has largely been discredited and is no longer widely accepted.

Needless to say, the apparent similarity of the shape of an egg to a zero has inspired similar analogies, such as the use of duck (reputed to be short for duck’s egg) for a zero score at cricket, and goose egg for «zero».

Noun[edit]

love (uncountable)

1. (racquet sports, billiards) Zero, no score.

   So that’s fifteen-love to Kournikova.

   • 2013, Paul McNamee, Game Changer: My Tennis Life

     The next day Agassi came back from two sets to love down to beat Courier in five sets.

2. Nothing; no recompense.
   • 1916, H. Rider Haggard, The Ivory Child

     I fought the white man for less than sixpence. I fought him for love, which is nothing at all.

Translations[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

Verb[edit]

love (third-person singular simple present loves, present participle loving, simple past and past participle loved)

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

References[edit]

• love at OneLook Dictionary Search
• love in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
• “love”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams[edit]

• levo, levo-, velo-, vole, voël

Czech[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): [ˈlovɛ]
• Hyphenation: lo‧ve

Etymology 1[edit]

Borrowed from Romani love.

Noun[edit]

love f pl

1. (slang) money

   Synonym: prachy

Declension[edit]

• Indeclinable.

Etymology 2[edit]

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun[edit]

love m

1. vocative singular of lov

Further reading[edit]

• love in Kartotéka Novočeského lexikálního archivu

Danish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɔːvə/, [ˈlɔːʋə], [ˈlɔːʊ]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle Low German lōve, from Proto-Germanic *galaubô, cognate with German Glaube.

Noun[edit]

love c

1. (obsolete) trust, faith

   only in the phrase på tro og love (“solemnly”)

References[edit]

• “love,1” in Den Danske Ordbog

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old Norse lofa, from Proto-Germanic *(ga)lubōną, cognate with Swedish lova (“to promise; to praise”), German loben (“to praise”), geloben (“to vow”), Dutch loven (“to praise”).

Verb[edit]

love (past tense lovede, past participle lovet)

1. to promise
2. (solemn) to praise

Conjugation[edit]

References[edit]

• “love,2” in Den Danske Ordbog
• “love,3” in Den Danske Ordbog

Etymology 3[edit]

See See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun[edit]

love c

1. indefinite plural of lov

Dutch[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

love

1. (archaic) singular present subjunctive of loven

Anagrams[edit]

• velo, voel

French[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

love

1. inflection of lover:
   1. first-person /third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Anagrams[edit]

• vélo, vole, volé

Friulian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin lupa, feminine of lupus. Compare Venetian lova, French louve.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

love f (plural lovis)

1. she-wolf

[edit]

• lôf

Hunsrik[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈloːvə/

Verb[edit]

love

1. to praise

Further reading[edit]

• Online Hunsrik Dictionary

Inari Sami[edit]

Inari Sami numbers ^(edit)

	100
←  1	←  9	10	11  →	20  →
	1
Cardinal: love     Ordinal: lovváád

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Samic *lokē

Numeral[edit]

love

1. ten

Inflection[edit]

This numeral needs an inflection-table template.

Further reading[edit]

• love in Marja-Liisa Olthuis, Taarna Valtonen, Miina Seurujärvi and Trond Trosterud (2015–2022) Nettidigisäänih Anarâškiela-suomakielâ-anarâškielâ sänikirje‎^[2], Tromsø: UiT

• Koponen, Eino; Ruppel, Klaas; Aapala, Kirsti, editors (2002–2008) Álgu database: Etymological database of the Saami languages‎^[3], Helsinki: Research Institute for the Languages of Finland

Middle Dutch[edit]

Noun[edit]

lōve

1. dative singular of lof

Middle English[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Inherited from Old English lufu, from Proto-West Germanic *lubu, from Proto-Germanic *lubō.

Alternative forms[edit]

• lof, lofe, louf, luf, lufe, luff, luffe, luve
• leove, lofve, lufæ (early)

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈluv(ə)/, /ˈloːv(ə)/

Noun[edit]

love (plural loves)

1. Love; strong and deep affection:
   1. Sexual or romantic desire (in humans and animals)
   2. Theosis, sanctification, or love as a means to attain it.
2. One who one loves; a loved individual:
   1. A lover; a sexual or romantic partner.
   2. A personification or embodiment of love.
   3. (Christianity) The Holy Spirit (or less often, God generally).
3. A peace treaty; the ending of hostilities.
4. (rare) Permission, consent.

[edit]

Descendants[edit]

• English: love
• Scots: luve, lufe
• Yola: loove

References[edit]

• “lǒve, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2[edit]

Inherited from Old English lāfe, oblique singular of lāf, from Proto-West Germanic *laibu, from Proto-Germanic *laibō; compare leven (“to halt”), which some forms are influenced by.

Alternative forms[edit]

• lave, leve, loove
• lafe, læve, loave (early)

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɔːv(ə)/
• (Northern) IPA^(key): /laːf/, /ˈlaːv(ə)/

Noun[edit]

love (uncountable)

1. The remainder or rest; that which is left.

   • c. 1375, “Book VI”, in Iohne Barbour, De geſtis bellis et uirtutibus domini Roberti de Brwyß […] (The Brus, Advocates MS. 19.2.2)‎^[4], Ouchtirmunſye: Iohannes Ramſay, published 1489, folio 21, recto, lines 431-434; republished at Edinburgh: National Library of Scotland, c. 2010:

     Thyꝛwall þ[at] was þ[air] capitain / Wes þ[air] in þe baꝛgain slain / ⁊ off his men þe maſt p[ar]ty / Ϸe laue fled full affrayitly

     Thirlwall, who was their commander / was killed there in the struggle / with the greatest part of his men; / the rest fled very frightened.

2. (rare) A widow; a woman whose husband has died.

   Synonyms: relicte, widwe

Descendants[edit]

• English: lave
• Scots: lave

References[edit]

• “lōve, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 3[edit]

Borrowed from Old Norse lófi, from Proto-Germanic *lōfô; compare glove.

Alternative forms[edit]

• lof, loove, louf, luf, lufe, luff, luffe

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈloːv(ə)/, /loːf/

Noun[edit]

love (plural loves)

1. (chiefly Northern) The palm (inner part of the hand)

Descendants[edit]

• English: loof
• Scots: luif, lufe, luff

References[edit]

• “lọ̄ve, n.(3).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 4[edit]

Verb[edit]

love

1. Alternative form of loven (“to love”)

Etymology 5[edit]

Verb[edit]

love

1. Alternative form of loven (“to praise”)

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse lofa.

Verb[edit]

love (imperative lov, present tense lover, simple past and past participle lova or lovet, present participle lovende)

1. to praise

Verb[edit]

love (imperative lov, present tense lover, simple past lova or lovet or lovte or lovde, past participle lova or lovet or lovt or lovd, present participle lovende)

1. to promise

   (as an adjective) det lovede land — the Promised Land

[edit]

• løfte

References[edit]

• “love” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Verb[edit]

love (present tense lovar or lover, past tense lova or lovde, past participle lova or lovt or lovd, present participle lovande, imperative lov)

1. Alternative form of lova

Noun[edit]

love m (definite singular loven, indefinite plural lovar, definite plural lovane)

1. Alternative form of lóve

Anagrams[edit]

• vole

Romani[edit]

Noun[edit]

love

1. plural of lovo
2. money

Descendants[edit]

• → French: lové
• → Hungarian: lóvé
• → Romanian: lovea
• → Russian: лавэ́ (lavɛ́)
• → Scots: lowie
• → Serbo-Croatian:
  • Cyrillic script: ло́ва
  • Latin script: lóva
• → Slovak: lóve

Serbo-Croatian[edit]

Noun[edit]

love (Cyrillic spelling лове)

1. vocative singular of lov

Verb[edit]

love (Cyrillic spelling лове)

1. third-person plural present of loviti