pay one's addresses

verb

Of a man, to make respectful approaches to a woman with a view to courting her romantically.

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Meanings

verbpay one's addresses (third-person singular simple present pays one's addresses, present participle paying one's addresses, simple past and past participle paid one's addresses)

present singular third person pays one's addresses · participle present paying one's addresses · participle past paid one's addresses · past paid one's addresses · alternative make one's addresses

  1. archaicOf a man, to make respectful approaches to a woman with a view to courting her romantically.

    “I would be glad to know, whether this maid was in your service at the time you mention when Signor Zeluco paid his addresses to you?”

    1789, John Moore, Zeluco, Valancourt, published 2008, page 73
Cite this entry
APA

pay one's addresses. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pay%20one's%20addresses

MLA

“pay one's addresses.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pay%20one's%20addresses. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pay one's addresses,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pay%20one's%20addresses.

Source: pay one's addresses on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.