Etymology
1. O.E.
lufu "love, affection, friendliness," from P.Gmc.
*lubo (cf. O.Fris.
liaf, Ger.
lieb, Goth.
liufs "dear, beloved;" not found elsewhere as a noun, except O.H.G.
luba, Ger.
Liebe), from PIE
*leubh- "to care, desire, love" (cf. L.
lubet, later
libet "pleases;" Skt.
lubhyati "desires;" O.C.S.
l'ubu "dear, beloved;" Lith.
liaupse "song of praise"). Meaning "a beloved person" is from c.1225. The sense "no score" (in tennis, etc.) is 1742, from the notion of "playing for love," i.e. "for nothing" (1678).
Love-letter is attested from c.1240;
love-song from c.1310. To be
in love with (someone) is from 1508.
Love life "one's collective amorous activities" is from 1919, originally a term in psychological jargon. Phrase
make love is attested from 1580 in the sense "pay amorous attention to;" as a euphemism for "have sex," it is attested from c.1950.
Love child "child born out of wedlock," first attested 1805, from earlier
love brat (17c.).
Lovesick is attested from 1530;
lovelorn from 1634 (see lose). Phrase
for love or money "for anything" is attested from 1590. To
fall in love is attested from 1423. The phrase
no love lost (between two people) is ambiguous and was used 17c. in ref. to two who love each other well (c.1640) as well as two who have no love for each other (1622).
2. 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”).
3. The close of a letter sense is presumably a truncation of With love or the like.
4. 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.
5. Eclipsed non-native English amour (“love”), borrowed from Norman amour (“love”).
6. Cognates
7. Cognate with Scots luve (“love”), Saterland Frisian ljo, ljoo, ljoof (“dear, sweet”), Ljoote, Ljoowe (“love”), West Frisian leaf (“friendly, kind, cordial”), leafde (“love”), Dutch lief (“lovely, nice, sweet”), liefde (“love”), German lieb (“dear; lovable”), Liebe (“love”), German Low German Leevde, Lieve (“love”), Luxembourgish léif (“lovely, kind, nice, sweet”), Léift (“love”), Vilamovian łiwa (“love”), Yiddish ליב (lib, “nice; kind”), Icelandic ljúfur (“beloved, dear”), Norwegian Nynorsk, Swedish ljuv (“lovely, sweet”), Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌿𐍆𐍃 (liufs, “beloved, dear”), Albanian lyp (“to beg”), Russian любовь (ljubovʹ, “love”), Lithuanian liaupsė (“praise”), Latin libido (“desire, lust”), Polish lubić (“to like”), Persian آلفتن (âloftan, “to enamor”), Sanskrit लोभ (lobha, “desire, greed”). See: Middle English '
loven', Old English '
lufian', Scots '
luve', Wymysorys '
łiwa', Latin '
libido', Polish '
lubić'.
Verbs referencing "love"
German, old spelling
lieben, Russian
любить, Sranan
lobi, Finnish with old forms
lovettaa, Sanskrit
लुभ्यति, Frisian, Saterlandic lúuvje, Italian
lovvare.