love

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To care very deeply about someone.

   I love you and I always will.

2. 2
   verb

   To like something very much; to enjoy greatly.

   I love French food, especially the cheese.

3. 3
   noun

   A strong feeling of deep affection for someone.

   Their love for their family was obvious to everyone.

4. 4
   noun

   Something you enjoy or care about very much.

   The theatre has always been her first love.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Love is an Old English word whose ancient root also produced Latin libido, meaning “desire.” Its use for a score of zero in games such as tennis dates from the mid-18th century and may refer to playing for love rather than money; the popular derivation from French l’oeuf, “egg,” is uncertain.

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 (“lov…

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External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary