The name of Valentine’s Day can be traced back to the observance of the feast day of Saint Valentine. There are at least two saints named Valentine, one of whom became a martyr around the year 270 CE. The name Valentine comes from a Latin word meaning “strength.”

There are many legends about it, but it’s ultimately unclear how Valentine’s Day became associated with the tradition of exchanging the affectionate gifts and love notes that we call valentines. One of the first known mentions of Valentine’s Day as a day celebrating romance comes from Geoffrey Chaucer’s 1375 poem Parliament of Foules (Fowls), in which he connects the day to the widespread belief of the time that February 14 was the start of the mating season for birds.

Valentines are often intended as a declaration of love, but they can also be given as a gesture of friendship. Valentines are commonly exchanged by romantic partners, or given by someone who wants to show affection to or romantic interest in the recipient. But they can also be exchanged by family members and friends—children might make valentines for their parents and school students sometimes give valentines to all of their fellow classmates on Valentine’s Day, for example.

The classic version of a valentine is a card shaped like a heart, but they can come in many forms. Valentine messages can be serious or humorous or silly.

The word valentine can also refer to the person to whom a valentine is given (or the person who gives it), or to a person’s date or romantic partner on Valentine’s Day. Asking someone to be your valentine typically conveys romantic interest—it most commonly means you want them to be your date for Valentine’s Day. However, this is not always the case.

What are some terms that often get used in discussing Valentine’s Day?