paramour

noun

par·​amour ˈper-ə-ˌmu̇r 

ˈpa-rə-

: lover

specifically : an illicit or secret lover

a married man and his paramour

Her account put him in the position of looking like the duped lover believing the cheating married paramour's protestation of love …

—Bettina Drew

Did you know?

Paramour came to English from French (a language based on Latin), though the modern French don't use the word. Since par amour meant "through love", it implies a relationship based solely on love, often physical love, rather than on social custom or ceremony. So today it tends to refer to the lover of a married man or woman, but may be used for any lover who isn't obeying the social rules.

Examples of paramour in a Sentence

And faster than you can say "You've got mail!" he fell hard for his unseen paramour. —Kipp Cheng, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Oct. 1998

His Vietnamese paramour was a young woman of remarkable beauty. —Neil Sheehan, A Bright Shining Lie, 1988

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Their recent public appearance at the prestigious Silverstone Circuit in Northampton confirmed their relationship is thriving, sparking endless curiosity about Pitt’s latest paramour. —Nuala Phillips, Vogue, 8 July 2024

Fuller mixes close-ups with long and overhead shots to capture a constrained environment taken over by a fight between a foreign spy and a professional thief trying to avenge his dead friend and battered paramour. —Vikram Murthi, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2024

Reynolds' Wade is now working as a used car salesman and no longer dating his longtime paramour Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). —Nick Romano, EW.com, 2 July 2024

Shortly after that, Butcher cuts off the leg of Vought scientist Sameer — great to meet Victoria Neuman’s paramour, and the father of Zoe, by the way — and kidnaps him with Kessler. —Jennifer Maas, Variety, 28 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

paramour

noun

par·​amour ˈpar-ə-ˌmu̇r 

: a partner in a sexual relationship other than that of husband and wife