paramour

par·amour

noun \ˈpa-rə-ˌmu̇r\

Definition of PARAMOUR

: an illicit lover

Examples of PARAMOUR

1. And faster than you can say “You've got mail!” he fell hard for his unseen paramour. —Kipp Cheng, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Oct. 1998
2. His Vietnamese paramour was a young woman of remarkable beauty. —Neil Sheehan, A Bright Shining Lie, 1988
3. As the vessel made sail immediately, and landed no part of their cargo, there seemed little doubt that they were accomplices of the notorious Robertson, and that the vessel had only come into the firth to carry off his paramour. —Walter Scott, The Heart of Midlothian, 1818

Origin of PARAMOUR

Middle English, from par amour for the sake of love, willingly, from Anglo-French par amur

First Known Use: 14th century

Rhymes with PARAMOUR

amateur, aperture, armature, blackamoor, carrefour, carte du jour, coinsure, commissure, confiture, connoisseur, coverture, curvature, cynosure, embouchure, epicure, filature, forfeiture, garniture, geniture, green-manure, haute couture, immature, insecure, ligature, manicure, overture, pedicure, plat du jour, portraiture, prelature, premature, quadrature, reassure, Reaumur, reinsure, saboteur, sepulture, sequitur, signature, simon-pure, sinecure, soup du jour, tablature, temperature, to be sure, troubadour, white amur, Yom Kippur