paramour
Syllables: par·a·mourUK/ˈpæɹəmʊə//ˈpɛɹəˌmʊ(ə)ɹ/
paramour noun: a person who is the object of one's love, especially in an affair or romance; a lover; also, a sexual partner.
Noun
paramour (plural paramours)
- A person who is the object of one's love, especially in an affair or romance; a lover; also, a sexual partner.
- No ſolace could her Paramour intreat / Her once to ſhovv, ne court, nor dalliaunce, / But vvith bent lovvring brovves, as ſhe vvould threat, / She ſcould, and frovvned vvith frovvard countenaunce, / Vnvvorthy of faire Ladies comely gouernaunce.1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 35, page 215
- It vvas no ſeaſon then for her [Nature] / To vvanton vvith the Sun her luſty Paramour.1629, John Milton, “On the Morning of Christs Nativity”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, →OCLC, The Hymn, stanza I, page 3
- A person (especially someone who is not one's spouse) with whom one has an illicit or secret affair; also (Scotland, US, law), one with whom a married person has an adulterous affair.
- to run away with a paramour
- And if it ſo that ſhe be not his wyfe (bicauſe ſhe was once his brothers wyfe) as your Doctors ſaye and affirme, then no man can excuſe your kynge nor ſaye but that ſhe hath ben euyil handeled, and kepte lyke a Concubine or Paramour for the bodely appetite, which is a great ſpotte, ſhame, ⁊ rebuke...a. 1548 (date written), Edward Hall, Richard Grafton, “[The Triumphant Reigne of Kyng Henry the VIII.] The Determinacion of the Facultie of Diuinitie in the Vniuersitie of Padua in Italy.”, in The...
- A woman who is the object of a knight's love, and who he fights for.
- It is the leaſt of his famous aduentures, that hee vndertaketh to be Greenes [Robert Greene's?] aduocate: […] He may declare his deere affection to his Paramour; or his pure honeſtye to the vvorld; […]1593, Gabriell Haruey [i.e., Gabriel Harvey], Pierces Supererogation: Or A New Prayse of the Old Asse. A Preparative to Certaine Larger Discourses, Intituled Nashes S. Fame, London: […] Iohn Wolfe...
- Chloris, the Queene of Flovvers; / The ſvveetneſſe of all Shovvres; / The ornament of Bovvres; / The top of Par-amours!1631, [Ben Jonson], Chloridia. Rites to Chloris and Her Nymphs. […], London: […] Thomas Walkley, →OCLC, signature C, verso
- God as the object of a person's devotion or love.
- Clad you with yͤ ſilke of ſinceritie, with yͤ ſaten [satin] of ſanctitie, with the purple of probitie. Thus prune and pricke vp your ſelues, and God himſelfe ſhall be your paramour, ⁊c.1581, Iohn Marbeck [i.e., John Merbecke], “Of Womens Apparell”, in A Booke of Notes and Common Places, with Their Expositions, Collected and Gathered out of the Workes of Diuers Singular Writers, and...
Verb
paramour (third-person singular simple present paramours, present participle paramouring, simple past and past participle paramoured)
- To have an illicit or secret affair with a person, especially someone who is not one's spouse.
- [W]ine loued I deeply, dice deerely, and in vvoman out paromord the Turke, […][c. 1603–1606 (date written), [William Shakespeare], […] His True Chronicle Historie of the Life and Death of King Lear and His Three Daughters. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Nathaniel Butter, […]...
- [I]ndeed a daughter is better ill married, then vvell Paramour'd.1620, [Miguel de Cervantes], “Of the Wise and Pleasant Discourse, that Passed betwixt Sancho Pansa and His Wife Teresa Pansa, and Other Accidents Worthy of Happy Remembrance”, in Thomas Shelton...
Adverb
paramour (not comparable)
- Of loving, etc.: out of or through romantic feeling or sexual desire; passionately.
- […] Cleopatra, doughter of Ptolomee late kinge of Egypt (whome Ceſar [Julius Caesar] in his lyfe helde for his Concubine) the ſame lady Antoni [Mark Antony] (with whome Octauiane [later Augustus] deuided the empire) loued alſo peramours, abandonynge his wyfe, whiche was ſuſter to Octauian.1531, Thomas Elyot, “Of Sobrietie in Diete”, in The Boke Named the Governour […], London: […] Tho[mas] Bertheleti, →OCLC, 3rd boke, folio 232, recto
- Because you love par amours, is it reasonable you should throw away your life and ours?1825 June 22, [Walter Scott], chapter XIII, in Tales of the Crusaders. […], volume II (The Betrothed), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst...
- Synonyms:
- devotedly, passionately
- Used chiefly when addressing someone: out of or through devotion or kindness; as a favour or kindness.
- [T]he Lord Chiefe Iuſtice ſtood vp, and forbad the proceedings, alotting Paramour the Lands vvith the ſatiſfying of the plaintifes, and thereupon commanded Nailor to giue Thorn againe his Gauntlet, vvhich he vnvvillingly did; and ſo the Combate being ended, vve may haue leaue to proceed.1611, Iohn Speed [i.e., John Speed], “Elizabeth Queene of England, France and Ireland, […]”, in The History of Great Britaine under the Conquests of yͤ Romans, Saxons, Danes and Normans. […], London...
paramour meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
paramour in Hindi
- paramour, lover
- यार yār
paramour in Tamil
- paramour
- சாரன் cāraṉ
paramour in Urdu
- paramour, lover
- یار yār
paramour in Bengali
- উপপত্নী, অবৈধ প্রেমিক
More languagesFewer languages
- paramour in Telugu
- ఱంకుమగడు ṟaṅkumagaḍu
- paramour in Malayalam
- ജാരൻ, വിടൻ, വിവാഹിതയുടെ കാമുകൻ, വിവാഹിത കാമുകി
- paramour in Kannada
- ಜಾರ, ಮಿಂಡ, ನಲ್ಮೆಕಾರ, ನಲ್ಮೆಗಾರ
- paramour in Punjabi
- ਆਸ਼ਨਾ āśanā, ڈھول ḍhol
- paramour in Sanskrit
- कामुक kāmuka
- paramour in Arabic
- خَلِيل ḵalīl, خَلِيلَة ḵalīla, عَشِيق ʕašīq, عَشِيقَة ʕašīqa
- paramour in Persian
- فاسق fâseq
Examples of paramour in a sentence
- I ſue not novv, thy Paramoure to be, / But as a husband to be linck'd to thee.1598, Michaell [i.e., Michael] Drayton, “Edwarde the Blacke Prince to Alice Countesse of Salisbury”, in Englands Heroicall Epistles. Newly...
- The seducer [Ford Grey, 1st Earl of Tankerville] appeared with dauntless front, accompanied by his paramour [Lady Henrietta Berkeley, his wife's sister].1849, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter V, in The History of England from the Accession of James II, volume I, London: Longman, Brown...
- [G]ive them / Their dowers, according to what / Is reasonable: they should be chaste, not lustful, nor taking paramours: […]1934, “Sūra IV, Section 3”, in Abdullah Yusuf Ali, transl., The Holy Qur’an: Translation and Commentary, [Birmingham, Warwickshire]...
- The paramouring matron left / A babe and husband both bereft; […]1842 October, J. de J[ean] [pseudonym; John de Jean Fraser], “The Stranger in His Native Place. (A Sketch from Life.)”, in The Dublin...
Synonyms of paramour
19 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of paramour
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | paramours |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | paramours |
| present participle | paramouring |
| past participle | paramoured |
| past | paramoured |
| Adverb | |
| alternative form | paramours |
Origin of paramour
The adverb is derived from Middle English par amour, paramore, paramours (“with sexual desire or love, passionately; in a courteous or friendly manner”), from Anglo-Norman par amur (“in a friendly or willing manner”) and Old French par amur, par amour, paramours (“by or through love”) (modern French par amour), from par (“by; through; etc.”) (from Latin per (“by means of, through”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to go through; etc.”)) + amor, amur (“love”, noun) (from Latin amōrem, the accusative singular of amor (“desire, lust; affection, love”), from amō (“to love”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃emh₃- (“to grasp, seize; to take hold; to touch; etc.”)) + -or (suffix forming abstract nouns)). The noun is from Middle English paramour, paramoure, paramur, peramour (“wife; concubine; mistress; husband; male lover; darling, sweetheart; romantic love; sexual passion; (Christianity) Jesus Christ; the Virgin Mary; divine or spiritual love”), from par amour, paramore (adverb) (see above), possibly from a misinterpretation of to love paramour(s) (“to love passionately”) to mean “to love a beloved person”. The verb is partly from both of the following: *...
Words formed from paramour
Questions about paramour
- What does paramour mean?
- Paramour means a person who is the object of one's love, especially in an affair or romance; a lover; also, a sexual partner.
- What is paramour in Hindi?
- Paramour in Hindi is यार (yār). See Paramour meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use paramour in a sentence?
- I ſue not novv, thy Paramoure to be, / But as a husband to be linck'd to thee.
- What part of speech is paramour?
- Paramour can be a noun, a verb or an adverb.
- How do you pronounce paramour?
- Paramour is pronounced /ˈpæɹəmʊə/ (UK).
- What is the plural of paramour?
- The plural of paramour is paramours.
Words near paramour in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: paramour (page history and authors); यार (Hindi) (page history and authors); சாரன் (Tamil) (page history and authors); یار (Urdu) (page history and authors); Paramour (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ఱంకుమగడు (Telugu) (page history and authors); paramour (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); paramour (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ڈھول (Punjabi) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-paramour.wav.
Cite this entry: “paramour.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/paramour. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.