philander

phi·lan·der
P3H4I1L1A1N1D2E1R1
UK/fɪˈlændə/US/fɪˈlændəɹ/

noun

A lover.

Similar
womanizewomanisechat upflirtdallybutterflycoquetcoquette
OriginAncient Greek Φίλανδρος →
UncommonScrabble 15
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Meanings

nounphilander (plural philanders)

plural philanders

  1. A lover.

    Yes, I'll baste you together, you and your Philander!

    1700, [William] Congreve, The Way of the World, a Comedy. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page number)
  2. A South American opossum, bare-tailed woolly opossum, of species Caluromys philander (syn. Didelphis philander).
  3. obsoleteA greater bilby, an Australian marsupial of species Macrotis lagotis (syn. Perameles lagotis).
verbphilander (third-person singular simple present philanders, present participle philandering, simple past and past participle philandered)

present singular third person philanders · participle present philandering · participle past philandered · past philandered

  1. intransitiveTo woo women; to play the male flirt.

    You can't be philandering after her again.

    1876, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], Daniel Deronda, volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC

    Synonyms: womanize, womanise

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo woo women; to play the male flirt.

Similar
womanizewomanise

More synonyms by meaning

verbhave amorous affairs; of men

Similar
womanizewomanise
Broader
interact

verbtalk or behave amorously, without serious intentions

Similar
chat upflirtdallybutterflycoquetcoquetteromancemash
Broader
talkspeak
Also see
butterflychat upcoquetcoquettedallyflirtmashromancewomanize

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Ancient GreekΦίλανδρος
  2. Englishphilander

As a verb, first seen in the 1824 play Philandering: Or, The Rose Queen, by Samuel Beazley. From the given name Philander, used for love interest or suitor stock characters in several 18th century stories and poems, from Ancient Greek Φίλανδρος (Phílandros), name of the mythological son of the nymph Acacallis and the god Apollo. Semantically disconnected from the adjective φίλανδρος (phílandros, “loving one’s husband; excessively attracted to males, slutty, boy crazy”).

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian флиртувам
  • флиртувам (flirtuvam)To make love to women; to play the male flirt
Estonian liiderdama
  • liiderdamaTo make love to women; to play the male flirt
Finnish philanderinvillapussirotta, venezuelanvillaopossumi
  • philanderinvillapussirottaCaluromys philander
  • venezuelanvillaopossumiCaluromys philander
  • isopussikaniiniMacrotis lagotis
  • isokorvapusseliMacrotis lagotis
Hebrew הִתְפַּרְפֵּר
  • הִתְפַּרְפֵּר (hitparpér)To make love to women; to play the male flirt
Portuguese flirtar
  • flirtarTo make love to women; to play the male flirt
Russian флиртовать
  • флиртовать (flirtovatʹ)To make love to women; to play the male flirt
Swedish större kaninpunggrävling
  • större kaninpunggrävlingMacrotis lagotis
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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