leman

noun
/ˈlɛmən/

Etymology

From Middle English lemman, variant of leofman, from Old English *lēofmann ("lover; sweetheart"; attested as a personal name), equivalent to lief + man ("beloved person"). In the past, incorrectly asserted to derive from French l'aimant (“the [male] lover”).

  1. derived from aimant — “the 􂀿male􂁀 lover
  2. inherited from *lēofmann
  3. inherited from lemman

Definitions

  1. One beloved

    One beloved; a lover, a sweetheart of either sex (especially a secret lover; a gallant or mistress).

    • Faire Venus seemde vnto his bed to bring Her, whom he waking euermore did weene, To be the chastest flowre, that ay did spring On earthly braunch, the daughter of a king, Now a loose Leman to vile seruice bound[…].
    • The prisoner I speak of is better booty—a jolly monk riding to visit his leman, an I may judge by his horse-gear and wearing apparel.
  2. A paramour.

    • And he sent the news to William the Lyon, sitting drinking the wine and fondling his bonny lemans in Edinburgh Town, and William made him the Knight of Kinraddie[…].
  3. A surname.

The neighborhood

Derived

lemanry

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for leman. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA