the.com/amour
French for love, deployed in English to make an affair sound classier than it is.
means A love affair or romantic passion — often used with a knowing wink to add a bit of flair to romance or scandal.
from Borrowed directly from French 'amour' (love), which descends from Latin 'amor,' from the verb 'amare,' to love. English has been importing the word since the medieval period, often precisely for its foreign shimmer — using 'amour' instead of plain 'love' or 'affair' lets the speaker borrow a little French glamour, the same instinct that gives us 'rendezvous' and 'liaison' for things English words describe just fine, but less seductively.
- borrowed glamour
- English speakers use it to add romance by association
- root
- from Latin amor, same root as amiable
- usage tell
- rarely used sincerely without a wink attached