philanderer

American  

[fi-lan-der-er] / fɪˈlæn dər ər /

noun

1. a person, usually a man, who has many casual sexual encounters or affairs, especially when married or in a committed relationship.

   After three of his infidelities, she’d finally had enough of a husband who by all accounts had become a serial philanderer.

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Etymology

Origin of philanderer

philander ( def. ) + -er ¹ ( def. )

Explanation

A philanderer is a guy who likes women. A lot. So much that he's got a beautiful wife — and a date with a different girl every weekend. The phil in philanderer means "love" and a philanderer's love never seems to stop. "So many ladies, so little time..." — That may just be the motto of the quintessential philanderer, those delightful serial womanizers who specialize in brief affairs of the carnal kind. A philandering husband doesn't just have a wandering eye. He also has wandering hands, and probably a long line of jilted lovers.

Example Sentences

The admin of a smaller left-wing Facebook page, The Ragged Trousered Philanderer, says that the change had a big impact.

From BBC • Nov. 26, 2019

"Philanderer" Alfred Rouse, who may not have known the victim's identity, was having money problems and wanted to fake his own death.

From BBC • Oct. 18, 2014

"Philanderer" Rouse, who may not have known the victim's identity, was having money problems and wanted to fake his own death.

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2014

The Philanderer mixes its talky satirical jabs at "Victorian routine" with a visceral sensation of claustrophobia.

From Time Magazine Archive

M. Remy de Gourmont writes: 'Molière has never drawn a doctor more comically "the doctor" than Paramore, nor more characteristic figures of women than those in the same play, The Philanderer.

From Old and New Masters by Lynd, Robert