Etymology

limerence

L1I1M3E1R1E1N1C3E1

Today it means: An involuntary romantic infatuation with another person, especially combined with an overwhelming, obsessive need to have one's feelings reciprocated. Full definition →

First used 20th c.
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The story

From limer- (“a coined, arbitrary first element”) + -ence. Coined by American psychologist Dorothy Tennov in 1977 as an arbitrary euphonious replacement or alteration of the word amorance.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 20th c. An involuntary romantic infatuation with another person, especially combined with an overwhelming, obsessive need to have one's feelings reciprocated.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.