Added 9 October 2026

paramour

/ˈpæɹəmʊə/ noun

Latin root: per Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about paramour at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A person who is the object of one's love, especially in an affair or romance; a lover; also, a sexual partner.
A person (especially someone who is not one's spouse) with whom one has an illicit or secret affair; also , one with whom a married person has an adulterous affair.
to run away with a paramour
A person (especially someone who is not one's spouse) with whom one has an illicit or secret affair; also , one with whom a married person has an adulterous affair.
to run away with a paramour

To have an illicit or secret affair with a person, especially someone who is not one's spouse.

Of loving, etc.: out of or through romantic feeling or sexual desire; passionately.
Used chiefly when addressing someone: out of or through devotion or kindness; as a favour or kindness.

The adverb is derived from Middle English par amour, paramore, paramours (“with sexual desire or love, passionately; in a courteous or friendly manner”), from Anglo-Norman par amur (“in a friendly or willing manner”) and Old French par amur, par amour, paramours (“by or through love”) (modern French par amour), from par (“by; through; etc.”) (from Latin per (“by means of, through”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to go through; etc.”)) + amor, amur (“love”, noun) (from Latin amōrem, the accusative singular of amor (“desire, lust; affection, love”), from amō (“to love”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃emh₃- (“to grasp, seize; to take hold; to touch; etc.”)) + -or.