Lovelace

L1O1V4E1L1A1C3E1

proper noun

A surname transferred from the nickname.

OriginMiddle English lufeless →
Less commonScrabble 13
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Meanings

proper nounLovelace (plural Lovelaces)

plural Lovelaces · alternative Loveless · alternative Lowes · alternative Lowess

  1. A surname transferred from the nickname.
nounLovelace (plural Lovelaces)

plural Lovelaces · alternative Loveless · alternative Lowes · alternative Lowess

  1. A well-mannered libertine.

    You are a dangerous young fellow—a kind of Lovelace who will make the Clarissas run after you instead of you running after them.

    1876, George Eliot, chapter 32, in Daniel Deronda, London: Blackwood

Origin

  1. Middle Englishlufeless“loveless”
  2. EnglishLovelace

From Middle English lufeless (“loveless”), possibly a nickname for a philanderer. In the libertine sense, refers to Robert Lovelace, a character in Samuel Richardson's 1748 novel Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Lovelace. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Lovelace

MLA

“Lovelace.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Lovelace. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Lovelace,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Lovelace.

Source: Lovelace on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.