Term of endearment: Difference between revisions
remove "Examples" list per no objection on talk |
|||
| Line 4: | Line 4: | ||
{{wiktionarycat|type=terms of endearment|category=Terms of endearment}} |
{{wiktionarycat|type=terms of endearment|category=Terms of endearment}} |
||
A '''term of endearment''' is a word or phrase used to address and/or describe a person or animal for which the speaker feels [[love]] or [[affection]]. Terms of endearment are used for a variety of reasons, such as parents addressing their [[children]] and [[lovers]] addressing each other. |
A '''term of endearment''' is a word or phrase used to address and/or describe a person or animal for which the speaker feels [[love]] or [[affection]]. Terms of endearment are used for a variety of reasons, such as parents addressing their [[children]] and [[lovers]] addressing each other. |
||
==Examples== |
|||
This is a '''list of common terms of endearment'''. |
|||
{{dynamic list}} |
|||
{{CompactTOC8|side=yes|center=no|nobreak=yes}} |
|||
__NOEDITSECTION__ |
|||
<!--- Make sure these are sorted ---> |
|||
{{Multicol}} |
|||
*Baby/Babe<ref name="Complete">Glass, Lillian. ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to Verbal Self-Defense''. Alpha Books, 1999. p. 114. ISBN 0028627415</ref> |
|||
*Darling<ref name="Complete" /> |
|||
*Dear<ref name=Mother_Tongue>Olin Hill, Alette. "Terms of Endearment", in ''Mother Tongue, Father Time''. Indiana University Press, 1986. p. 90. ISBN 0253338794</ref> |
|||
*Duck<ref>{{citation|publisher=Oxford University Press|title = Oxford English Dictionary|accessdate=13 January 2008 |url=http://dictionary.oed.com}}</ref> |
|||
{{Multicol-break}} |
|||
*Hon<ref name="Mother_Tongue" /> |
|||
*Honey<ref name="Complete" /> |
|||
*Honey Bunny<ref name="Lovers">Morton, Mark. ''The Lover's Tongue: A Merry Romp Through the Language of Love and Sex''. Insomniac Press, 2003. pp. 49–54. ISBN 1894663519</ref> |
|||
*Lambkin<ref name="Lovers" /> |
|||
*Love<ref name="Complete" /> |
|||
*Lovey-dovey<ref name="Lovers" /> |
|||
*Puddin'<ref name="Lovers" /> |
|||
{{Multicol-break}} |
|||
*Schatz or Schatzi (German)<ref>[http://german.about.com/library/blliebe.htm German Words of Love and Romance]</ref> |
|||
*Snookums<ref name="Lovers" /> |
|||
*[[wiktionary:sugar#Noun|Sugar]]<ref name="Lovers" /> |
|||
*Sugar Pie<ref name="Lovers" /> |
|||
*Sweetpea<ref name="Lovers" /> |
|||
*Sweetheart<ref name="Lovers" /> |
|||
*Sweetie<ref name="Complete" /> |
|||
*Sweetie Pie<ref name="Lovers" /> |
|||
*Turtle Dove<ref name="Lovers" /> |
|||
{{Multicol-end}} |
|||
==Etymology== |
==Etymology== |
||
Revision as of 00:11, 31 January 2009
 | This article possibly contains original research. (November 2008) |
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2008) |
A term of endearment is a word or phrase used to address and/or describe a person or animal for which the speaker feels love or affection. Terms of endearment are used for a variety of reasons, such as parents addressing their children and lovers addressing each other.
Etymology
Such words may not, in their original use, bear any resemblance in meaning to the meaning attached when used as a term of endearment, for example calling a spouse "pumpkin". Some words are clearly derived from each other, such as "sweetheart" and "sweetie", while others bear no etymological resemblance, such as "baby" and "cutie". The first evidence of the current connotation for terms of endearment varies. "Honey" (as meli) has been documented as a term of endearment in ancient Greece.[citation needed] "Baby" is first used in 1839 and "sugar" only appears as recently as 1930.[1]
Most terms of endearment are concrete nouns that have favorable associations, either with a sweet taste or the nature of the relationship. Sometimes, abstract nouns are used, such as "sweetness", implying that the object of the speaker's affection is not only sweet, but embodies sweetness itself.
Use of terms of endearment can reveal little or nothing about the true quality of the relationship in question.
Usage
Some are very restricted in their use, such as "hubby", which is only used by someone addressing their husband, while others can be applied in a variety of contexts, such as baby, as shown in the following paragraph.
Each term of endearment has its own connotations, which are highly dependent on the situation they are used in, such as tone of voice, body language, and social context. Saying "Hey baby, you're looking good" varies greatly from the use "Baby, don't swim at the deep end of the pool!". Certain terms can be perceived as offensive or patronizing, depending on the context and speaker.[2]
Some terms may be combined for added emphasis, e.g. honey bunny, and convey a sense of greater affection. The longer the string of terms, the greater the sense of affection is conveyed. Some combinations seem nonsensical, odd, or too long, such as baby pie or sexy cupcake pumpkin, and are seldom used.
See also
References
- ^ Online Etymology Dictionary
- ^ "Stop using 'dearie', nurses told". BBC News. 2008-11-26. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
General references
- Latin Terms of Endearment and of Family Relationship: A Lexicographical Study Based on Volume VI of the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum; By Samuel Glenn Harrod, 1909, University of Michigan.
- A Woman's Place: Rhetoric and Readings for Composing Yourself and Your Prose by Shirley Morahan, Published by SUNY Press, 1981, ISBN 0873954882, 9780873954884.
- The Cambridge French-English Thesaurus by Marie-Noëlle Lamy, Richard Towell, Published by Cambridge University Press, 1998, ISBN 0521425816, 9780521425810.
- Mother Tongue, Father Time: A Decade of Linguistic Revolt, Alette Olin Hill, Published by Indiana University Press, ISBN 0253338794, 9780253338792.
- The Lover's Tongue: A Merry Romp Through the Language of Love and Sex Mark Morton, Published by Insomniac Press, 2003; ISBN 1894663519, 9781894663519.