amour

a·mour
A1M3O1U1R1
UK/əˈmʊə/UK/aˈmʊə/US/əˈmʊɹ/US/ɑˈmʊɹ/

noun

Courtship; flirtation.

Less commonScrabble 7

Meanings

amour1

nounamour (countable and uncountable, plural amours)

plural amours · alternative archaic amor

  1. countableuncountableCourtship; flirtation.

    Perhaps Daisy never went in for amour at all—and yet there's something in that voice of hers….

    1925, F[rancis] Scott Fitzgerald, chapter 4, in The Great Gatsby, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, published 1953, →ISBN, pages 78–79
  2. countableuncountableA love affair.

    The amours of the greater scaup are, if anything, even more varied.

    1990 October 26, Jerry Sullivan, “Field & Street”, in Chicago Reader
    1 more example

    Jones had mentioned the Fact of his Amour, and of his being the Rival of Blifil, but had cautiously concealed the Name of the young Lady.

    1749, Henry Fielding, “A Dialogue between Mr. Jones and the Barber”, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume III, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book VIII, page 180
  3. countableuncountableA lover.

    Makes you wonder how they were able to see their amours, or their hands...

    2000 December 29, James McManus, “The Winter Casino”, in Chicago Reader
    1 more example

    ‘Dulce, will you go to the masquerade-ball to night?’ said I to my lesser-half, on a bright evening during the gayest part of the ‘carnival season.’ / ‘No, my amor,’ answered she; ‘I am ill this evening; do n’t go out to-night, but stay by my side, and let your cheering presence save a doctor’s fee.’

    1845 May 28, Ned Buntline, “A Night-Adventure in Cuba”, in The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine, volume XXV, number 4, New York, N.Y.: […] John Allen, […], page 326
  4. countableobsoleteuncountableLove, affection.

Amour2

proper noun
  1. A surname from French.

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna usually secretive or illicit sexual relationship

Broader
sexual relationship

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₃emh₃-
  2. Proto-Italic*amāō
  3. Latinamō
  4. Latinamōrem
  5. Old Frenchamor
  6. Middle Frenchamour
  7. Middle Englishamour
  8. Frenchamourinflu.
  9. Englishamour

Inherited from Middle English amour, from Middle French amour, from Old French amor, from Latin amor. The modern pronunciation is due to continual French influence; the expected pronunciation would be /ˈæmə(ɹ)/; compare enamour, enamoured.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with amour

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

amour. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/amour

MLA

“amour.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/amour. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “amour,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/amour.

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