Thenoun is fromMiddle Englishparamour,paramoure,paramur,peramour(“wife; concubine; mistress; husband; male lover; darling, sweetheart; romantic love; sexual passion; (Christianity) Jesus Christ; the Virgin Mary; divine or spiritual love”),[3] frompar amour,paramore(adverb) (see above), possibly from a misinterpretation ofto love paramour(s) (“to love passionately”) to mean “to love a beloved person”.[4]
FromMiddle Englishparamouren(“to love (someone)”),[5] probably derived from the adverb (see above).[6] The Middle English word is only attested in one (possibly 15th-century) source and does not appear to have been used again until the 17th century, though compareWilliam Shakespeare's use ofout-paramour inKing Lear (writtenc. 1603–1606): see the 1608 quotation.
Uses from the 17th century onwards are probably derived from the noun.
No ſolace could herParamour intreat / Her once to ſhovv, ne court, nor dalliaunce, / But vvith bent lovvring brovves, as ſhe vvould threat, / She ſcould, and frovvned vvith frovvard countenaunce, / Vnvvorthy of faire Ladies comely gouernaunce.
Their ſociety vvas more like that of a den of outlavvs upon a doubtful frontier; of a levvd tavern for the revels and debauches of banditti, aſſaſſins, bravos, ſmugglers, and their more deſperateparamours, mixed vvith bombaſtick players, the refuſe and rejected offal of ſtrolling theatres,[…]
Yes, in[…] these very halls, to have lived theparamour of their murderer, the slave at once and the partaker of his pleasures, was to render every breath which I drew of vital air, a crime and a curse.
a.1548 (date written),Edward Hall,Richard Grafton, “[The Triumphant Reigne of KyngHenry the VIII.] The Determinacion of the Facultie of Diuinitie in the Vniuersitie of Padua in Italy.”, inThe Vnion of the Two Noble and Illustre Famelies of Lancastre & Yorke,[…], London:[…] Rychard Grafton,[…] [andSteven Mierdman], published1550,→OCLC,folio cc, verso:
And if it ſo that ſhe be not his wyfe (bicauſe ſhe was once his brothers wyfe) as your Doctors ſaye and affirme, then no man can excuſe your kynge nor ſaye but that ſhe hath ben euyil handeled, and kepte lyke a Concubine orParamour for the bodely appetite, which is a great ſpotte, ſhame, ⁊ rebuke to her and to her whole lynage,[…]
I ſue not novv, thyParamoure to be, / But as a husband to be linck'd to thee.
1664,H[enry] More, chapter XXI, inSynopsis Prophetica; or, The Second Part of the Modest Enquiry into the Mystery of Iniquity:[…], London:[…] James Flesher, for William Morden[…],→OCLC, book II,page467:
You vvould believe that the Images of Men-Saints vvere ſome Princes ofPerſia-land vvith their proud Apparel; and the Idols of our VVomen-Saints vvere nice vvell-trimmed Harlots tempting theirParamours to vvantonneſs.
A scene unparalleled in our legal history was exhibited in the Court of King's Bench. The seducer[Ford Grey, 1st Earl of Tankerville] appeared with dauntless front, accompanied by hisparamour[Lady Henrietta Berkeley, his wife's sister].
The action scenes are deafening and punchily staged by directorLouis Letterier (The Transporter), though I wish he'd set more time aside to spend with Nobby, hisparamour Dawn (Rebel Wilson), their shaven-headed brood, and friends.
1593, Gabriell Haruey [i.e.,Gabriel Harvey],Pierces Supererogation: Or A New Prayse of the Old Asse. A Preparative to Certaine Larger Discourses, IntituledNashes S. Fame, London:[…]Iohn Wolfe,→OCLC,page33:
It is the leaſt of his famous aduentures, that hee vndertaketh to beGreenes[Robert Greene's?]aduocate:[…] He may declare his deere affection to hisParamour; or his pure honeſtye to the vvorld;[…]
1581, Iohn Marbeck [i.e.,John Merbecke], “Of Womens Apparell”, inA Booke of Notes and Common Places, with Their Expositions, Collected and Gathered out of the Workes of Diuers Singular Writers, and Brought Alphabetically into Order.[…], London:[…]Thomas East,→OCLC,page1171:
Clad you with yͤ ſilke of ſinceritie, with yͤ ſaten[satin] of ſanctitie, with the purple of probitie. Thus prune and pricke vp your ſelues, and God himſelfe ſhall be yourparamour, ⁊c.
[pages 277–278] A bridle shreded from the skin of an unbaptized infant, with bits forged inSatan’s armoury, possessed irresistible power when shaken above any living thing.[…] At midnight, his mistress cautiously approaching his bed-side, shook the charmed bridle over his face, saying ‘Up Horsie,’ when, to his utter astonishment, he arose in the form of a gray horse![…][page 280] To ride post on the human body was a privilege enjoyed only by those whoparamoured with Satan.
[T]he dissection of Charlie Borthwick's character was instantly resumed by Mrs M'Kittrick, who declared that he might ha'e found better employment at hame, thanparamouring wi' the like o' Widow M'Cauchie.
I do not think I am fit to marry, to make an obedient wife or affectionate mother; my imagination isparamoured with me, and would disqualify me, I think, for the every-day, matter-of-fact cares and duties of the mistress of a household and the head of a family.
2011, Joanna L. Grossman,Lawrence M[eir] Friedman, “Untying the Knot: Divorce and Annulment”, inInside the Castle: Law and the Family in 20th Century America, Princeton, N.J.; Woodstock, Oxfordshire:Princeton University Press,→ISBN, part 3 (When the Music Stops: Dissolving a Marriage and the Aftermath),page174:
Los Angeles County established a Court of Conciliation, led in the 1950s by JudgeLouis Burke. The Court had "jurisdiction over all persons having any relation to the domestic controversy." This meant it could even call in "third party 'paramours'" and tell them to quit theirparamouring. The aim was to save marriages.
[…]Cleopatra, doughter ofPtolomee late kinge of Egypt (whome Ceſar[Julius Caesar] in his lyfe helde for his Concubine) the ſame lady Antoni[Mark Antony] (with whome Octauiane[laterAugustus] deuided the empire) loued alſoperamours, abandonynge his wyfe, whiche was ſuſter to Octauian.
1611, Iohn Speed [i.e.,John Speed], “Elizabeth Queene of England, France and Ireland,[…]”, inThe History of Great Britaine under the Conquests of yͤ Romans, Saxons, Danes and Normans.[…], London:[…] William Hall and John Beale, for John Sudbury and George Humble,[…],→OCLC, book IX ([Englands Monarchs][…]), paragraph 138,pages851–852:
[T]he Lord Chiefe Iuſtice ſtood vp, and forbad the proceedings, alottingParamour the Lands vvith the ſatiſfying of theplaintifes, and thereupon commandedNailor to giueThorn againe his Gauntlet, vvhich he vnvvillingly did; and ſo the Combate being ended, vve may haue leaue to proceed.
Thenoun is frompar amour,paramore(adverb) (see above),[2] possibly from a misinterpretation ofto love paramour(s) (“to love passionately”) to mean “to love a beloved person”.
Is this trouthe said Palomydes / Thenne shall we hastely here of sire Tristram / And as for to say that I loue la Beale Isoudperamours I dare make good that I doo / and that she hath my seruyse aboue alle other ladyes / and shalle haue the terme of my lyf
, Oxford:Oxford University Press, September 2025.
Paramour (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia