# lover

Pronunciation: US say "LUV-er" /ˈlʌvɚ/; UK say "LUV-uh" /ˈlʌvə/

## Noun

1. Someone who loves and cares for another person romantically, whether as a sweetheart, a partner, or a spouse.
   - Simple: A person who loves someone in a romantic way, like a boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife.
   - _The play follows two lovers from feuding families who marry in secret._
   - _She kept every letter her lover had sent her from the front during the war._
2. Someone with a strong fondness for something, such as a pastime, an art, or a kind of food or drink.
   - Simple: Someone who really likes something, such as music, animals, or good food.
   - _As a lover of jazz, she rarely missed a show at the club downtown._
   - _He was no lover of crowds, so he did his shopping early on weekday mornings._
3. Someone with whom a person has a sexual relationship, especially as part of an affair.
   - Simple: A person someone has sex with, especially in a secret relationship outside their marriage.
   - _The tabloids revealed that the senator had been meeting his lover at a hotel near the Capitol._
   - _Over the years she took several lovers, none of whom her husband ever suspected._
4. In the West Country of England, a friendly, informal way of addressing any friend, always in the phrase my lover. *(dialectal, West Country)*
   - Simple: In southwest England, a friendly way to speak to a friend, always said as my lover.
   - _Morning, my lover! Fancy a cuppa before you head off?_
   - _"You're a star, my lover," Jen told her mate after he fixed her bike._

## Noun

5. Obsolete form of louver. *(obsolete)* — Obsolete form of louver.
   - Simple: Old spelling of louver. You will only find it in very old writing.

## Origin

From Middle English lovere, luffer, lufere, equivalent to love + -er.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/lover (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).