Love LOVE, v.t. luv. [L. libeo, lubeo. See Lief. The sense is probably to be prompt, free, willing, from leaning, advancing, or drawing forward.]
1. In a general sense to be pleased with; to regard with affection, on account of some qualities which excite pleasing sensations or desire of gratification. We love a friend, on account of some qualities which give us pleasure in his society. We love a man who has done us a favor; in which case, gratitude enters into the composition of our affection. We love our parents and our children, on account of their connection with us, and on account of many qualities which please us. We love to retire to a cool shade in summer. We love a warm room in winter. we love to hear an eloquent advocate. The christian loves his Bible. In short, we love whatever gives us pleasure and delight, whether animal or intellectual; and if our hearts are right, we love God above all things, as the sum of all excellence and all the attributes which can communicate happiness to intelligent beings. In other words, the christian loves God with the love of complacency in his attributes, the love of benevolence towards the interest of his kingdom, and the love of gratitude for favors received.
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind -
Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Mat 22.
2. To have benevolence or good will for. John 3.
LOVE, n.
1. An affection of the mind excited by beauty and worth of any kind, or by the qualities of an object which communicate pleasure, sensual or intellectual. It is opposed to hatred. Love between the sexes, is a compound affection, consisting of esteem, benevolence, and animal desire. Love is excited by pleasing qualities of any kind, as by kindness, benevolence, charity, and by the qualities which render social intercourse agreeable. In the latter case, love is ardent friendship, or a strong attachment springing from good will and esteem, and the pleasure derived from the company, civilities and kindness of others.
Between certain natural relatives, love seems to be in some cases instinctive. Such is the love of a mother for her child, which manifests itself toward an infant, before any particular qualities in the child are unfolded. This affection is apparently as strong in irrational animals as in human beings.
We speak of the love of amusements, the love of books, the love of money, and the love of whatever contributes to our pleasure or supposed profit.
The love of God is the first duty of man, and this springs from just views of his attributes or excellencies of character, which afford the highest delight to the sanctified heart. Esteem and reverence constitute ingredients in this affection, and a fear of offending him is its inseparable effect.
2. Courtship; chiefly in the phrase, to make love, that is, to court; to woo; to solicit union in marriage.
3. Patriotism; the attachment one has to his native land; as the love of country.
4. Benevolence; good will.
God is love. 1 John 4.
5. The object beloved.
The lover and the love of human kind.
6. A word of endearment.
Trust me, love.
7. Picturesque representation of love.
Such was his form as painters, when they show their utmost art, on naked loves bestow.
8. Lewdness.
He is not lolling on a lewd love-bed.
9. A thin silk stuff. Obs.
Love in idleness, a kind of violet.
Free of love, a plant of the genus Cercis.

love n 1: a strong positive emotion of regard and affection; "his love for his work"; "children need a lot of love" [ant: hate, hatred] 2: any object of warm affection or devotion; "the theater was her first love"; "he has a passion for cock fighting"; [syn: love, passion] 3: a beloved person; used as terms of endearment [syn: beloved, dear, dearest, honey, love] 4: a deep feeling of sexual desire and attraction; "their love left them indifferent to their surroundings"; "she was his first love" [syn: love, sexual love, erotic love] 5: a score of zero in tennis or squash; "it was 40 love" 6: sexual activities (often including sexual intercourse) between two people; "his lovemaking disgusted her"; "he hadn't had any love in months"; "he has a very complicated love life" [syn: sexual love, lovemaking, making love, love, love life] v 1: have a great affection or liking for; "I love French food"; "She loves her boss and works hard for him" [ant: detest, hate] 2: get pleasure from; "I love cooking" [syn: love, enjoy] 3: be enamored or in love with; "She loves her husband deeply" 4: have sexual intercourse with; "This student sleeps with everyone in her dorm"; "Adam knew Eve"; "Were you ever intimate with this man?" [syn: sleep together, roll in the hay}, love, make out, make love, sleep with, get laid}, have sex, know, do it, be intimate, have intercourse}, have it away, have it off, screw, fuck, jazz, eff, hump, lie with, bed, have a go at it, bang, get it on, bonk]

love vole levo

love lʌv See: FOR LOVE OR MONEY, IN LOVE, LABOR OF LOVE, MAKE LOVE, NO LOVE LOST, PUPPY LOVE also CALF LOVE.

love I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English lufu; akin to Old High German luba love, Old English lēof dear, Latin lubēre, libēre to please Date: before 12th century 1. a. (1) strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties <maternal love for a child> (2) attraction based on sexual desire ; affection and tenderness felt by lovers (3) affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests <love for his old schoolmates> b. an assurance of love <give her my love> 2. warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion <love of the sea> 3. a. the object of attachment, devotion, or admiration <baseball was his first love> b. (1) a beloved person ; darling — often used as a term of endearment (2) British — used as an informal term of address 4. a. unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another: as (1) the fatherly concern of God for humankind (2) brotherly concern for others b. a person's adoration of God 5. a god or personification of love 6. an amorous episode ; love affair 7. the sexual embrace ; copulation 8. a score of zero (as in tennis) 9. capitalized, Christian Science god II. verb (loved; loving) Date: before 12th century transitive verb 1. to hold dear ; cherish 2. a. to feel a lover's passion, devotion, or tenderness for b. (1) caress (2) to fondle amorously (3) to copulate with 3. to like or desire actively ; take pleasure in <loved to play the violin> 4. to thrive in <the rose loves sunlight> intransitive verb to feel affection or experience desire

love
n. & v.
--n.
1 an intense feeling of deep affection or fondness for a person or thing; great liking.
2 sexual passion.
3 sexual relations.
4 a a beloved one; a sweetheart (often as a form of address). b Brit. colloq. a form of address regardless of affection.
5 colloq. a person of whom one is fond.
6 affectionate greetings (give him my love).
7 (often Love) a representation of Cupid.
8 (in some games) no score; nil.
--v.tr.
1 (also absol.) feel love or deep fondness for.
2 delight in; admire; greatly cherish.
3 colloq. like very much (loves books).
4 (foll. by verbal noun, or to + infin.) be inclined, esp. as a habit; greatly enjoy; find pleasure in (children love dressing up; loves to find fault).
Phrases and idioms:
fall in love (often foll. by with) develop a great (esp. sexual) love (for). for love for pleasure not profit. for the love of for the sake of. in love (often foll. by with) deeply enamoured (of). love affair a romantic or sexual relationship between two people in love. love-apple archaic a tomato. love-bird any of various African and Madagascan parrots, esp. Agapornis personata. love-child an illegitimate child. love-feast
1 a meal affirming brotherly love among early Christians.
2 a religious service of Methodists, etc., imitating this. love game a game in which the loser makes no score. love-hate relationship an intensely emotional relationship in which one or each party has ambivalent feelings of love and hate for the other. love-in-a-mist a blue-flowered garden plant, Nigella damascena, with many delicate green bracts. love-letter a letter expressing feelings of sexual love. love-lies-bleeding a garden plant, Amaranthus caudatus, with drooping spikes of purple-red blooms. love-match a marriage made for love's sake. love-nest a place of intimate lovemaking. love-seat an armchair or small sofa for two. make love (often foll.
by to)
1 have sexual intercourse (with).
2 archaic pay amorous attention (to). not for love or money colloq. not in any circumstances. out of love no longer in love.
Derivatives:
loveworthy adj.
Etymology: OE lufu f. Gmc

LOVE There are so many sorts of love that one does not know to whom to address oneself for a definition of it. The name of "love" is given boldly to a caprice lasting a few days, a sentiment without esteem, gallants' affectations, a frigid habit, a romantic fantasy, relish followed by prompt disrelish: people give this name to a thousand chimeras. If philosophers want to probe to the bottom this barely philosophical matter, let them meditate on the banquet of Plato, in which Socrates, honourable lover of Alcibiades and Agathon, converses with them on the metaphysics of love. Lucretius speaks of it more as a natural philosopher: Virgil follows in the steps of Lucretius; amor omnibus idem. It is the stuff of nature broidered by nature. Do you want an idea of love? look at the sparrows in your garden; look at your pigeons; look at the bull which is brought to the heifer; look at this proud horse which two of your grooms lead to the quiet mare awaiting him; she draws aside her tail to welcome him; see how her eyes sparkle; hark to the neighing; watch the prancing, the curvetting, the ears pricked, the mouth opening with little convulsions, the swelling nostrils, the flaring breath, the manes rising and floating, the impetuous movement with which he hurls himself on the object which nature has destined for him; but be not jealous of him, and think of the advantages of the human species; in love they compensate for all those that nature has given to the animals—strength, beauty, nimbleness, speed. There are animals, even, who have no enjoyment in possession. Scale fish are deprived of this delight: the female throws millions of eggs on the mud; the male coming across them passes over them, and fertilizes them with his seed, without troubling about the female to whom they belong. Most animals that pair, taste pleasure only by a single sense, and as soon as the appetite is satisfied, everything is extinguished. No animal, apart from you, knows what kissing is; the whole of your body is sensitive; your lips especially enjoy a voluptuousness that nothing can tire; and this pleasure belongs to no species but yours: you can give yourself up to love at any time, and the animals have but a fixed time. If you reflect on these superiorities, you will say with the Count of Rochester—"In a country of atheists love would cause the Deity to be worshipped." As men have received the gift of perfecting all that nature accords them, they have perfected love. Cleanliness, the care of oneself, by rendering the skin more delicate, increase the pleasure of contact; and attention to one's health renders the organs of voluptuousness more sensitive. All the other sentiments that enter into that of love, just like metals which amalgamate with gold: friendship, regard, come to help; the faculties of mind and body are still further chains. Self-love above all tightens all these bonds. One applauds oneself for one's choice, and a crowd of illusions form the decoration of the building of which nature has laid the foundations. That is what you have above the animals. But if you taste so many pleasures unknown to them, how many sorrows too of which the beasts have no idea! What is frightful for you is that over three-fourths of the earth nature has poisoned the pleasures of love and the sources of life with an appalling disease to which man alone is subject, and which infects in him the organs of generation alone. It is in no wise with this plague as with so many other maladies that are the result of our excesses. It was not debauch that introduced it into the world. Phryne, Lais, Flora, Messalina and those like them, were not attacked by it; it was born in some islands where men lived in innocence, and thence spread itself over the ancient world. If ever one could accuse nature of despising her work, of contradicting her plans, of acting against her designs, it is in this detestable scourge which has soiled the earth with horror and filth. Is that the best of all possible worlds? What! if Cæsar, Antony, Octavius never had this disease, was it not possible for it not to cause the death of François I.? "No," people say, "things were ordered thus for the best." I want to believe it; but it is sad for those to whom Rabelais dedicated his book. Erotic philosophers have often debated the question of whether Heloïse could still really love Abelard when he was a monk and emasculate? One of these qualities did very great harm to the other. But console yourself, Abelard, you were loved; the root of the hewn tree still retains a remnant of sap; the imagination aids the heart. One can still be happy at table even though one eats no longer. Is it love? is it simply a memory? is it friendship? All that is composed of something indescribable. It is an obscure feeling resembling the fantastic passions retained by the dead in the Elysian fields. The heroes who, during their lifetime, shone in the chariot races, drove imaginary chariots when they were dead. Heloïse lived with you on illusions and supplements. She kissed you sometimes, and with all the more pleasure that having taken a vow at the Paraclet monastery to love you no longer, her kisses thereby became more precious as more guilty. A woman can barely be seized with a passion for a eunuch: but she can keep her passion for her lover become eunuch, provided that he remains lovable. It is not the same, ladies, for a lover who has grown old in service; the externals subsist no longer; the wrinkles horrify; the white eyebrows shock; the lost teeth disgust; the infirmities estrange: all that one can do is to have the virtue of being nurse, and of tolerating what one has loved. It is burying a dead man.

love lʌv n. & v. --n. 1 an intense feeling of deep affection or fondness for a person or thing; great liking. 2 sexual passion. 3 sexual relations. 4 a a beloved one; a sweetheart (often as a form of address). b Brit. colloq. a form of address regardless of affection. 5 colloq. a person of whom one is fond. 6 affectionate greetings (give him my love). 7 (often Love) a representation of Cupid. 8 (in some games) no score; nil. --v.tr. 1 (also absol.) feel love or deep fondness for. 2 delight in; admire; greatly cherish. 3 colloq. like very much (loves books). 4 (foll. by verbal noun, or to + infin.) be inclined, esp. as a habit; greatly enjoy; find pleasure in (children love dressing up; loves to find fault). øfall in love (often foll. by with) develop a great (esp. sexual) love (for). for love for pleasure not profit. for the love of for the sake of. in love (often foll. by with) deeply enamoured (of). love affair a romantic or sexual relationship between two people in love. love-apple archaic a tomato. love-bird any of various African and Madagascan parrots, esp. Agapornis personata. love-child an illegitimate child. love-feast 1 a meal affirming brotherly love among early Christians. 2 a religious service of Methodists, etc., imitating this. love game a game in which the loser makes no score. love-hate relationship an intensely emotional relationship in which one or each party has ambivalent feelings of love and hate for the other. love-in-a-mist a blue-flowered garden plant, Nigella damascena, with many delicate green bracts. love-letter a letter expressing feelings of sexual love. love-lies-bleeding a garden plant, Amaranthus caudatus, with drooping spikes of purple-red blooms. love-match a marriage made for love's sake. love-nest a place of intimate lovemaking. love-seat an armchair or small sofa for two. make love (often foll. by to) 1 have sexual intercourse (with). 2 archaic pay amorous attention (to). not for love or money colloq. not in any circumstances. out of love no longer in love. øøloveworthy adj. [OE lufu f. Gmc]

LOVE
Leaving Our Vehicles Elsewhere
Locomotion Observing Visionary Empowerment
Linguistics Of Visible English
Lawrence Organizing Voices For Empowerment
Laughter Optimism Volunteerism And Enthusiasm
Lousy Overrated Vile Emotion
Legs Open Very Easy
Lashings Of Violent Exercise
Let Older Volunteers Educate
Light Of Valuable Energy
Leave Out Violence Everywhere
Let Our Violence End
Love Overcomes Violence Eternally
Loss Of Valuable Energy
Lawrence's Organized Volunteer Enterprise

love
Leaving Our Vehicles Elsewhere
Locomotion Observing Visionary Empowerment
Linguistics Of Visible English
Lawrence Organizing Voices For Empowerment
Laughter Optimism Volunteerism And Enthusiasm
Lousy Overrated Vile Emotion
Legs Open Very Easy
Lashings Of Violent Exercise
Let Older Volunteers Educate
Light Of Valuable Energy
Leave Out Violence Everywhere
Let Our Violence End
Love Overcomes Violence Eternally
Loss Of Valuable Energy
Lawrence's Organized Volunteer Enterprise

Love O, how this spring of love resembleth The uncertain glory of an April day; Which now shows all the beauty of the sun, And by and by a cloud takes all away. SHAKESPEARE: Two Gent. of V., Act i., Sc. 3. Love is a spirit all compact of fire; Not gross to sink, but light, and will aspire. SHAKESPEARE: Venus and A., Line 149. Such is the power of that sweet passion, That it all sordid baseness doth expel, And the refined mind doth newly fashion Unto a fairer form, which now doth dwell In his high thought, that would itself excel; Which he, beholding still with constant sight, Admires the mirror of so heavenly light. SPENSER: Hymn in Honor of Love. How could I tell I should love thee to-day, Whom that day I held not dear? How could I know I should love thee away When I did not love thee anear? JEAN INGELOW: Supper at the Mill._ _Song. Instruct me now what love will do; 'T will make a tongueless man to woo. Inform me next what love will do; 'T will strangely make a one of two. Teach me besides what love will do; 'T will quickly mar and make ye too. Tell me, now last, what love will do; 'T will hurt and heal a heart pierc'd through. SIR JOHN SUCKLING: Aph. of Love. Love is the only good in the world. Henceforth be loved as heart can love, Or brain devise, or hand approve. ROBERT BROWNING: Flight of the Duchess, Pt. xv. Mutual love brings mutual delight-- Brings beauty, life; for love is life, hate, death. R.H. DANA: The Dying Raven. Let those love now, who never loved before, Let those who always loved, now love the more. PARNELL: Trans. of Pervigilium Veneris. Love, well thou know'st, no partnership allows: Cupid averse rejects divided vows. PRIOR: Henry and Emma, Line 590. And love, life's fine centre, includes heart and mind. OWEN MEREDITH: Lucile, Pt. ii., Canto i., St. 17. I hold it true, whate'er befall, I feel it when I sorrow most; 'T is better to have loved and lost, Than never to have loved at all. TENNYSON: In Memoriam, Pt. xxvii., St. 4. Had we never loved so kindly, Had we never loved so blindly, Never met, or never parted, We had ne'er been broken-hearted. BURNS: Song, Ae Fond Kiss. Love in a hut, with water and a crust, Is--Love, forgive us! cinders, ashes, dust. KEATS: Lamia, Pt. ii., Line 1. Why did she love him? Curious fool! be still; Is human love the growth of human will? BYRON: Lara, Canto ii., St. 22. There is no pleasure like the pain Of being loved, and loving. PRAED: Legend of the Haunted Tree. Man's love is of man's life a thing apart, 'T is woman's whole existence. BYRON: Don Juan, Canto i., St. 194. In peace, Love tunes the shepherd's reed; In war, he mounts the warrior's steed; In halls, in gay attire is seen; In hamlets, dances on the green; Love rules the court, the camp, the grove, And men below, and saints above; For love is heaven and heaven is love. SCOTT: Lay of the Last Minstrel, Canto iii., St. 2. True love is at home on a carpet, And mightily likes his ease,-- And true love has an eye for a dinner, And starves beneath shady trees. His wing is the fan of a lady, His foot's an invisible thing, And his arrow is tipp'd with a jewel, And shot from a silver string. WILLIS: Love in a Cottage. What is love? 't is nature's treasure, 'T is the storehouse of her joys; 'T is the highest heaven of pleasure, 'T is a bliss which never cloys. THOMAS CHATTERTON: The Revenge, Act i., Sc. 2.

Love \Love\, n. [OE. love, luve, AS. lufe, lufu; akin to E. lief, believe, L. lubet, libet,it pleases, Skr. lubh to be lustful. See Lief.] 1. A feeling of strong attachment induced by that which delights or commands admiration; pre["e]minent kindness or devotion to another; affection; tenderness; as, the love of brothers and sisters. Of all the dearest bonds we prove Thou countest sons' and mothers' love Most sacred, most Thine own. --Keble. 2. Especially, devoted attachment to, or tender or passionate affection for, one of the opposite sex. He on his side Leaning half-raised, with looks of cordial love Hung over her enamored. --Milton. 3. Courtship; -- chiefly in the phrase to make love, i. e., to court, to woo, to solicit union in marriage. Demetrius . . . Made love to Nedar's daughter, Helena, And won her soul. --Shak. 4. Affection; kind feeling; friendship; strong liking or desire; fondness; good will; -- opposed to hate; often with of and an object. Love, and health to all. --Shak. Smit with the love of sacred song. --Milton. The love of science faintly warmed his breast. --Fenton. 5. Due gratitude and reverence to God. Keep yourselves in the love of God. --Jude 21. 6. The object of affection; -- often employed in endearing address. ``Trust me, love.'' --Dryden. Open the temple gates unto my love. --Spenser. 7. Cupid, the god of love; sometimes, Venus. Such was his form as painters, when they show Their utmost art, on naked Lores bestow. --Dryden. Therefore do nimble-pinioned doves draw Love. --Shak. 8. A thin silk stuff. [Obs.] --Boyle. 9. (Bot.) A climbing species of Clematis ({C. Vitalba}). 10. Nothing; no points scored on one side; -- used in counting score at tennis, etc. He won the match by three sets to love. --The Field. Note: Love is often used in the formation of compounds, in most of which the meaning is very obvious; as, love-cracked, love-darting, love-killing, love-linked, love-taught, etc. A labor of love, a labor undertaken on account of regard for some person, or through pleasure in the work itself, without expectation of reward. Free love, the doctrine or practice of consorting with one of the opposite sex, at pleasure, without marriage. See Free love. Free lover, one who avows or practices free love. In love, in the act of loving; -- said esp. of the love of the sexes; as, to be in love; to fall in love. Love apple (Bot.), the tomato. Love bird (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of small, short-tailed parrots, or parrakeets, of the genus Agapornis, and allied genera. They are mostly from Africa. Some species are often kept as cage birds, and are celebrated for the affection which they show for their mates. Love broker, a person who for pay acts as agent between lovers, or as a go-between in a sexual intrigue. --Shak. Love charm, a charm for exciting love. --Ld. Lytton. Love child. an illegitimate child. --Jane Austen. Love day, a day formerly appointed for an amicable adjustment of differences. [Obs.] --Piers Plowman. --Chaucer. Love drink, a love potion; a philter. --Chaucer. Love favor, something given to be worn in token of love. Love feast, a religious festival, held quarterly by some religious denominations, as the Moravians and Methodists, in imitation of the agap[ae] of the early Christians. Love feat, the gallant act of a lover. --Shak. Love game, a game, as in tennis, in which the vanquished person or party does not score a point. Love grass. [G. liebesgras.] (Bot.) Any grass of the genus Eragrostis. Love-in-a-mist. (Bot.) (a) An herb of the Buttercup family ({Nigella Damascena}) having the flowers hidden in a maze of finely cut bracts. (b) The West Indian Passiflora f[oe]tida, which has similar bracts. Love-in-idleness (Bot.), a kind of violet; the small pansy. A little western flower, Before milk-white, now purple with love's wound; And maidens call it love-in-idleness. --Shak. Love juice, juice of a plant supposed to produce love. --Shak. Love knot, a knot or bow, as of ribbon; -- so called from being used as a token of love, or as a pledge of mutual affection. --Milman. Love lass, a sweetheart. Love letter, a letter of courtship. --Shak. Love-lies-bleeding (Bot.), a species of amaranth ({Amarantus melancholicus}). Love match, a marriage brought about by love alone. Love potion, a compounded draught intended to excite love, or venereal desire. Love rites, sexual intercourse. --Pope Love scene, an exhibition of love, as between lovers on the stage. Love suit, courtship. --Shak. Of all loves, for the sake of all love; by all means. [Obs.] ``Mrs. Arden desired him of all loves to come back again.'' --Holinshed. The god of love, or Love god, Cupid. To make love to, to express affection for; to woo. ``If you will marry, make your loves to me.'' --Shak. To play for love, to play a game, as at cards, without stakes. ``A game at piquet for love.'' --Lamb. Syn: Affection; friendship; kindness; tenderness; fondness; delight.

Love \Love\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Loved; p. pr. & vb. n. Loving.] [AS. lufian. ?. See Love, n.] 1. To have a feeling of love for; to regard with affection or good will; as, to love one's children and friends; to love one's country; to love one's God. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. --Matt. xxii. 37. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy self. --Matt. xxii. 39. 2. To regard with passionate and devoted affection, as that of one sex for the other. 3. To take delight or pleasure in; to have a strong liking or desire for, or interest in; to be pleased with; to like; as, to love books; to love adventures. Wit, eloquence, and poetry. Arts which I loved. --Cowley.

Love \Love\, v. i. To have the feeling of love; to be in love.

LOVE luv ('ahebh, 'ahabhah, noun; phileo, agapao, verb; agape, noun): Love to both God and man is fundamental to true religion, whether as expressed in the Old Testament or the New Testament. Jesus Himself declared that all the law and the prophets hang upon love (Mt 22:40; Mr 12:28-34). Paul, in his matchless ode on love (1Co 13), makes it the greatest of the graces of the Christian life--greater than speaking with tongues, or the gift of prophecy, or the possession of a faith of superior excellence; for without love all these gifts and graces, desirable and useful as they are in themselves, are as nothing, certainly of no permanent value in the sight of God. Not that either Jesus or Paul underestimates the faith from which all the graces proceed, for this grace is recognized as fundamental in all God's dealings with man and man's dealings with God (Joh 6:28 f; Heb 11:6); but both alike count that faith as but idle and worthless belief that does not manifest itself in love to both God and man. As love is the highest expression of God and His relation to mankind, so it must be the highest expression of man's relation to his Maker and to his fellow-man. I. Definition. While the Hebrew and Greek words for "love" have various shades and intensities of meaning, they may be summed up in some such definition as this: Love, whether used of God or man, is an earnest and anxious desire for and an active and beneficent interest ins the well-being of the one loved. Different degrees and manifestations of this affection are recognized in the Scriptures according to the circumstances and relations of life, e.g. the expression of love as between husband and wife, parent and child, brethren according to the flesh, and according to grace; between friend and enemy, and, finally, between God and man. It must not be overlooked, however, that the fundamental idea of love as expressed in the definition of it is never absent in any one of these relations of life, even though the manifestation thereof may differ according to the circumstances and relations. Christ's interview with the apostle Peter on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias (Joh 21:15-18) sets before us in a most beautiful way the different shades of meaning as found in the New Testament words phileo, and agapao. In the question of Christ, "Lovest thou me more than these?" the Greek verb agapas, denotes the highest, most perfect kind of love (Latin, diligere), implying a clear determination of will and judgment, and belonging particularly to the sphere of Divine revelation. In his answer Peter substitutes the word philo, which means the natural human affection, with its strong feeling, or sentiment, and is never used in Scripture language to designate man's love to God. While the answer of Peter, then, claims only an inferior kind of love, as compared to the one contained in Christ's question, he nevertheless is confident of possessing at least such love for his Lord. II. The Love of God. First in the consideration of the subject of "love" comes the love of God--He who is love, and from whom all love is derived. The love of God is that part of His nature--indeed His whole nature, for "God is love"--which leads Him to express Himself in terms of endearment toward His creatures, and actively to manifest that interest and affection in acts of loving care and self-sacrifice in behalf of the objects of His love. God is "love" (1 Joh 4:8,16) just as truly as He is "light" (1 Joh 1:5), "truth" (1 Joh 1:6), and "spirit" (Joh 4:24). Spirit and light are expressions of His essential nature; love is the expression of His personality corresponding to His nature. God not merely loves, but is love; it is His very nature, and He imparts this nature to be the sphere in which His children dwell, for "he that abideth in love abideth in God, and God abideth in him" (1 Joh 4:16). Christianity is the only religion that sets forth the Supreme Being as Love. In heathen religions He is set forth as an angry being and in constant need of appeasing. 1. Objects of God's Love: The object of God's love is first and foremost His own Son, Jesus Christ (Mt 3:17; 17:5; Lu 20:13; Joh 17:24). The Son shares the love of the Father in a unique sense; He is "my chosen, in whom my soul delighteth" (Isa 42:1). There exists an eternal affection between the Son and the Father--the Son is the original and eternal object of the Father's love (Joh 17:24). If God's love is eternal it must have an eternal object, hence, Christ is an eternal being. God loves the believer in His Son with a special love. Those who are united by faith and love to Jesus Christ are, in a different sense from those who are not thus united, the special objects of God's love. Said Jesus, thou "lovedst them, even as thou lovedst me" (Joh 17:23). Christ is referring to the fact that, just as the disciples had received the same treatment from the world that He had received, so they had received of the Father the same love that He Himself had received. They were not on the outskirts of God's love, but in the very center of it. "For the father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me" (Joh 16:27). Here phileo is used for love, indicating the fatherly affection of God for the believer in Christ, His Son. This is love in a more intense form than that spoken of for the world (Joh 3:16). God loves the world (Joh 3:16; compare 1Ti 2:4; 2Pe 3:9). This is a wonderful truth when we realize what a world this is--a world of sin and corruption. This was a startling truth for Nicodemus to learn, who conceived of God as loving only the Jewish nation. To him, in his narrow exclusiveism, the announcement of the fact that God loved the whole world of men was startling. God loves the world of sinners lost and ruined by the fall. Yet it is this world, "weak," "ungodly," "without strength," "sinners" (Ro 5:6-8), "dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph 2:1 the King James Version), and unrighteous, that God so loved that He gave His only begotten Son in order to redeem it. The genesis of man's salvation lies in the love and mercy of God (Eph 2:4 f). But love is more than mercy or compassion; it is active and identifies itself with its object. The love of the heavenly Father over the return of His wandering children is beautifully set forth in the parable of the Prodigal Son (Lu 15). Nor should the fact be overlooked that God loves not only the whole world, but each individual in it; it is a special as well as a general love (Joh 3:16, "whosoever"; Ga 2:20, "loved me, and gave himself up for me"). 2. Manifestations of God's Love: God's love is manifested by providing for the physical, mental, moral and spiritual needs of His people (Isa 48:14,20,21; 62:9-12; 63:3,12). In these Scriptures God is seen manifesting His power in behalf His people in the time of their wilderness journeying and their captivity. He led them, fed and clothed them, guided them and protected them from all their enemies. His love was again shown in feeling with His people, their sorrows and afflictions (Isa 63:9); He suffered in their affliction, their interests were His; He was not their adversary but their friend, even though it might have seemed to them as if He either had brought on them their suffering or did not care about it. Nor did He ever forget them for a moment during all their trials. They thought He did; they said, "God hath forgotten us," "He hath forgotten to be gracious"; but no; a mother might forget her child that she should not have compassion on it, but God would never forget His people. How could He? Had He not graven them upon the palms of His hands (Isa 49:15 f)? Rather than His love being absent in the chastisement of His people, the chastisement itself was often a proof of the presence of the Divine love, "for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth" (Heb 12:6-11). Loving reproof and chastisement are necessary oftentimes for growth in holiness and righteousness. Our redemption from sin is to be attributed to God's wondrous love; "Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption; for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back" (Isa 38:17; compare Ps 50:21; 90:8). Eph 2:4 f sets forth in a wonderful way how our entire salvation springs forth from the mercy and love of God; "But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ," etc. It is because of the love of the Father that we are granted a place in the heavenly kingdom (Eph 2:6-8). But the supreme manifestation of the love of God, as set forth in the Scripture, is that expressed in the gift of His only-begotten Son to die for the sins of the world (Joh 3:16; Ro 5:6-8; 1 Joh 4:9 f), and through whom the sinful and sinning but repentant sons of men are taken into the family of God, and receive the adoption of sons (1 Joh 3:1 f; Ga 4:4-6). From this wonderful love of God in Christ Jesus nothing in heaven or earth or hell, created or uncreated or to be created, shall be able to separate us (Ro 8:37 f). III. The Love of Man. 1. Source of Man's Love: Whatever love there is in man, whether it be toward God or toward his fellowman, has its source in God--"Love is of God; and every one that loveth is begotten of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love" (1 Joh 4:7 f); "We love, because he first loved us" (1 Joh 4:19). Trench, in speaking of agape, says it is a word born within the bosom of revealed religion. Heathen writers do not use it at all, their nearest approach to it being philanthropia or philadelphia--the love betweeen those of the same blood. Love in the heart of man is the offspring of the love of God. Only the regenerated heart can truly love as God loves; to this higher form of love the unregenerate can lay no claim (1 Joh 4:7,19,21; 2:7-11; 3:10; 4:11 f). The regenerate man is able to see his fellow-man as God sees him, value him as God values him, not so much because of what he is by reason of his sin and unloveliness, but because of what, through Christ, he may become; he sees man's intrinsic worth and possibility in Christ (2Co 5:14-17). This love is also created in the heart of man by the Holy Ghost (Ro 5:5), and is a fruit of the Spirit (Ga 5:22). It is also stimulated by the example of the Lord Jesus Christ, who, more than anyone else, manifested to the world the spirit and nature of true love (Joh 13:34; 15:12; Ga 2:20; Eph 5:25-27; 1 Joh 4:9 f). 2. Objects of Man's Love: God must be the first and supreme object of man's love; He must be loved with all the heart, mind, soul and strength (Mt 22:37 f; Mr 12:29-34). In this last passage the exhortation to supreme love to God is connected with the doctrine of the unity of God (De 6:4 f)--inasmuch as the Divine Being is one and indivisible, so must our love to Him be undivided. Our love to God is shown in the keeping of His commandments (Ex 20:6; 1 Joh 5:3; 2 Joh 1:6). Love is here set forth as more than a mere affection or sentiment; it is something that manifests itself, not only in obedience to known Divine commands, but also in a protecting and defense of them, and a seeking to know more and more of the will of God in order to express love for God in further obedience (compare De 10:12). Those who love God will hate evil and all forms of worldliness, as expressed in the avoidance of the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life (Ps 97:10; 1 Joh 2:15-17). Whatever there may be in his surroundings that would draw the soul away from God and righteousness, that the child of God will avoid. Christ, being God, also claims the first place in our affections. He is to be chosen before father or mother, parent, or child, brother or sister, or friend (Mt 10:35-38; Lu 14:26). The word "hate" in these passages does not mean to hate in the sense in which we use the word today. It is used in the sense in which Jacob is said to have "hated" Leah (Ge 29:31), that is, he loved her less than Rachel; "He loved also Rachel more than Leah" (Ge 29:30). To love Christ supremely is the test of true discipleship (Lu 14:26), and is an unfailing mark of the elect (1Pe 1:8). We prove that we are really God's children by thus loving His Son (Joh 8:42). Absence of such love means, finally, eternal separation (1Co 16:22). Man must love his fellow-man also. Love for the brotherhood is a natural consequence of the love of the fatherhood; for "In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother" (1 Joh 3:10). For a man to say "I love God" and yet hate his fellowman is to brand himself as "a liar" (1 Joh 4:20); "He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, cannot love God whom he hath not seen" (1 Joh 4:20); he that loveth God will love his brother also (1 Joh 4:21). The degree in which we are to love our fellow-man is "as thyself" (Mt 22:39), according to the strict observance of law. Christ set before His followers a much higher example than that, however. According to the teaching of Jesus we are to supersede this standard: "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another" (Joh 13:34). The exhibition of love of this character toward our fellow-man is the badge of true discipleship. It may be called the sum total of our duty toward our fellow-man, for "Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: love therefore is the fulfillment of the law"; "for he that loveth his neighbor hath fulfilled the law" (Ro 13:8,10). The qualities which should characterize the love which we are to manifest toward our fellow-men are beautifully set forth in 1Co 13. It is patient and without envy; it is not proud or self-elated, neither does it behave discourteously; it does not cherish evil, but keeps good account of the good; it rejoices not at the downfall of an enemy or competitor, but gladly hails his success; it is hopeful, trustful and forbearing--for such there is no law, for they need none; they have fulfilled the law. Nor should it be overlooked that our Lord commanded His children to love their enemies, those who spoke evil of them, and despitefully used them (Mt 5:43-48). They were not to render evil for evil, but contrariwise, blessing. The love of the disciple of Christ must manifest itself in supplying the necessities, not of our friends only (1 Joh 3:16-18), but also of our enemies (Ro 12:20 f). Our love should be "without hypocrisy" (Ro 12:9); there should be no pretense about it; it should not be a thing of mere word or tongue, but a real experience manifesting itself in deed and truth (1 Joh 3:18). True love will find its expression in service to man: "Through love be servants one to another" (Ga 5:13). What more wonderful illustration can be found of ministering love than that set forth by our Lord in the ministry of foot-washing as found in Joh 13? Love bears the infirmities of the weak, does not please itself, but seeks the welfare of others (Ro 15:1-3; Php 2:21; Ga 6:2; 1Co 10:24); it surrenders things which may be innocent in themselves but which nevertheless may become a stumbling-block to others (Ro 14:15,21); it gladly forgives injuries (Eph 4:32), and gives the place of honor to another (Ro 12:10). What, then, is more vital than to possess such love? It is the fulfillment of the royal law (Jas 2:8), and is to be put above everything else (Col 3:14); it is the binder that holds all the other graces of the Christian life in place (Col 3:14); by the possession of such love we know that we have passed from death unto life (1 Joh 3:14), and it is the supreme test of our abiding in God and God in us (1 Joh 4:12,16). William Evans

Love This word seems to require explanation only in the case of its use by our Lord in his interview with "Simon, the son of Jonas," after his resurrection (John 21:16, 17). When our Lord says, "Lovest thou me?" he uses the Greek word _agapas_; and when Simon answers, he uses the Greek word _philo_, i.e., "I love." This is the usage in the first and second questions put by our Lord; but in the third our Lord uses Simon's word. The distinction between these two Greek words is thus fitly described by Trench:, "_Agapan_ has more of judgment and deliberate choice; _philein_ has more of attachment and peculiar personal affection. Thus the 'Lovest thou' (Gr. agapas) on the lips of the Lord seems to Peter at this moment too cold a word, as though his Lord were keeping him at a distance, or at least not inviting him to draw near, as in the passionate yearning of his heart he desired now to do. Therefore he puts by the word and substitutes his own stronger 'I love' (Gr. philo) in its room. A second time he does the same. And now he has conquered; for when the Lord demands a third time whether he loves him, he does it in the word which alone will satisfy Peter ('Lovest thou,' Gr. phileis), which alone claims from him that personal attachment and affection with which indeed he knows that his heart is full." In 1 Cor. 13 the apostle sets forth the excellency of love, as the word "charity" there is rendered in the Revised Version.

love I. v. a. 1. Have affection for, regard with affection, delight in, be fond of. 2. Have a passionate affection for, be in love with, be enamoured of. 3. Like, be pleased with. II. v. n. Delight, take pleasure. III. n. 1. Affection, affectionate regard, friendship, kindness, tenderness, fondness, delight. 2. Attachment, passionate affection, the tender passion. 3. Liking, fondness, inclination, devotion, strong attachment. 4. Lover, sweetheart. 5. Cupid, god of love, Eros. 6. Venus, Aphrodite, goddess of love. 7. Good-will, benevolence, charity.

love lʌv n. 1 warmth, affection, attachment, fondness, tenderness, devotion, attraction, friendship, amity, regard, admiration, fancy, adoration, adulation, ardour, passion, fervour, rapture, infatuation: Her love for him grew over the years. 2 liking, delight, enjoyment, pleasure, fondness, attraction, predilection, bent, leaning, proclivity, inclination, disposition, weakness, partiality, preference, taste, relish, passion: In his retirement, Charles has developed a love for golf. 3 darling, beloved, sweetheart, sweetie, sweet, honey, dear one, dearest, angel, turtle-dove, true-love, light of one's life, lover, paramour, mate, intended, betrothed; girlfriend, inamorata, lady-love, young lady, fianc÷e; boyfriend, beau, inamorato, suitor, swain, young man, fianc÷, Archaic leman, tally, US POSSLQ (= 'Person of the Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters'), Colloq girl, woman, guy, man: Let me tell you something, my love. Come live with me and be my love. 4 sympathy, tenderness, concern, charity, care, solicitude, affinity, rapport, harmony, brotherhood, sisterhood, fellow-feeling: He has great love for his fellow human beings. 5 love affair. a amour, liaison, affair, romance, relationship, affaire de coeur, intrigue: He's been having a love affair with his secretary. b passion, mania, Colloq thing: George allows nothing to interfere with his love affair with tennis. 6 make love (to) or (with). embrace, cuddle, caress, fondle, have sexual intercourse, Archaic take, know, Colloq neck, pet, canoodle, romance, have sex, make the beast with two backs, US and Canadian make out; Taboo slang screw, fuck, hump, bang, Brit roger, bonk: He still makes love to his wife even though they are both in their eighties. --v. 7 cherish, admire, adore, be in love with, lose one's heart to, worship, idolize, dote on, treasure, be infatuated with, think the world of, adulate, hold dear, like, Colloq be hung up on, be crazy or nuts or wild or mad about, have a crush on: Only after ten years of friendship did she discover that she loved him. 8 delight in, take pleasure in, derive pleasure or enjoyment from, relish, be partial to, have a passion or preference or taste for, be attracted to, be captivated by, be fond of, like, enjoy, appreciate, value, Colloq get a kick from or out of, be wild about, be thrilled by, US get a bang or charge from or out of: She loves chocolates. I just love your new dress! Love me, love my dog.

342 Moby Thesaurus words for "love": Amor, Aphrodite, Astarte, BOMFOG, Benthamism, Christian charity, Christian love, Cupid, Eros, Freya, Kama, Love, Venus, accord, accordance, admiration, admire, adoration, adore, adulate, adulation, affair, affection, affinity, agape, agreement, aim at, allegiance, altruism, amiability, amiableness, amicability, amicableness, amity, amor, amorousness, amour, angel, appreciate, ardency, ardor, attachment, attraction, babe, baby, baby-doll, bang, bask in, be all heart, be desirous of, be fond of, be partial to, be pleased with, beau, beloved, beloved object, beneficence, benevolence, benevolent disposition, benevolentness, bent, best love, best regards, best wishes, betrothed, bigheartedness, bonds of harmony, bonk, boyfriend, brotherhood, brotherly love, burn with love, buttercup, cardinal virtues, care, care for, caress, caritas, carnality, cement of friendship, charitableness, charity, cherish, cherub, chick, chickabiddy, choose, coldness, communion, community, community of interests, compatibility, compliments, concern, concord, concordance, congeniality, correspondence, cosset, crush, cuddle, dandle, darling, dear, dear one, dearly beloved, deary, deify, delight, delight in, derive pleasure from, desiderate, desire, devoirs, devotion, devour, disposition, do-goodism, doll, dote, dote on, dote upon, duck, duckling, eat up, egards, embrace, emotion, empathy, enjoy, enjoyment, enthusiasm, esprit, esprit de corps, exalt, faith, fancy, favor, fealty, feast on, feeling of identity, fellow feeling, fellowship, fervor, fiance, fiancee, fidelity, flesh, fleshliness, flower power, fondle, fondness, fortitude, freak out on, frictionlessness, friendliness, friendship, frigidity, fuck, generosity, get high on, girl, giving, gloat over, go for, good vibes, good vibrations, good wishes, goodwill, grace, greatheartedness, greetings, groove on, gust, gusto, guy, happy family, harmony, hate, have deep feelings, have designs on, have eyes for, have it bad, have sex, hold dear, hon, honey, honey bunch, honey child, hope, humanitarianism, hump, identity, idolatry, idolize, impotence, inamorata, inamorato, inclination, indulge in, infatuation, intended, intrigue, justice, kind regards, kindest regards, kindness, kinship, know, lamb, lambkin, largeheartedness, leaning, liaison, libido, light of love, like, like-mindedness, likes, liking, love affair, love of mankind, loved one, lovemaking, lover, loyalty, lust, lust after, luxuriate in, make out, man, mania, marriage, mate, mutuality, natural virtues, neck, neighborlikeness, neighborliness, oneness, partiality, passion, peace, peaceableness, pet, petkins, philanthropism, philanthropy, piety, pleasure, potency, precious, precious heart, predilection, prefer, preference, prize, proclivity, prudence, rapport, rapprochement, rapture, reciprocity, regard, regards, rejoice in, relationship, relish, remembrances, respects, revel in, revere, riot in, romance, savor, screw, sensuality, sentiment, sex drive, sexiness, sexual instinct, sexual urge, sexualism, sexuality, sharing, sisterhood, smack the lips, snookums, sociability, solicitude, solidarity, sugar, suitor, supernatural virtues, swain, sweet, sweetheart, sweetie, sweetkins, sweets, swim in, sympathy, symphony, take, take pleasure in, take to, tally, taste, team spirit, temperance, tenderness, theological virtues, thing, treasure, truelove, turtledove, understanding, unhostility, union, unison, unity, utilitarianism, value, venerate, voluptuousness, wallow in, want, warmth, weakness, welfarism, well-affectedness, well-beloved, well-disposedness, wish, wish to goodness, wish very much, woman, worship, would fain do, yearning, young man, zeal

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