paramour
[ par-uh-moo r ]
/ ˈpær əˌmʊər /
noun
an illicit lover, especially of a married person.
any lover.
RELATED WORDS
beau, mistress, sweetheart, concubine, admirer, courtesan, steady, escort, girlfriend, inamorata, boyfriend, doxy, inamorato
Nearby words
- paramo,
- paramorph,
- paramorphine,
- paramorphism,
- paramount,
- paramus,
- paramyloid,
- paramyloidosis,
- paramyoclonus,
- paramyotonia
Origin of paramour
1250–1300; Middle English, from the phrase par amour by or through love < Old French
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for paramour
paramour
/ (ˈpærəˌmʊə) /
noun
mainly derogatory a lover, esp an adulterous woman
an archaic word for beloved (def. 2)
Word Origin for paramour
C13: from Old French, literally: through love
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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paramour
c.1300, noun use of adverbial phrase par amour (c.1300) "passionately, with strong love or desire," from Anglo-French and Old French par amour, from accusative of amor "love," from amare "to love" (see Amy). Originally a term for Christ (by women) or the Virgin Mary (by men), it came to mean "darling, sweetheart" (mid-14c.) and "mistress, concubine, clandestine lover" (late 14c.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper