What does amour mean?
Amour is a noun denoting a love affair, particularly one that is secret, illicit, or otherwise dramatic, and by extension a lover or sweetheart. Borrowed directly from French, where it simply means 'love', the English word took on a narrower and more scandalous flavour, evoking clandestine meetings and forbidden passion rather than ordinary affection. It appears most often in literature, historical fiction, and gossip-tinged narrative, lending any sentence a whiff of candlelit intrigue. Writers choose it precisely because words like 'relationship' feel too modern and neutral; amour implies intensity, secrecy, and often doom. The word also survives in the compound amour-propre, meaning self-love or vanity, another French import. Because it differs from 'armour' by a single letter, it is a frequent source of amusing typos. For readers of romance and history alike, amour remains an elegant shorthand for love's riskier side.
nounA love affair, especially a secret or illicit one; a lover or sweetheart, particularly in literary or romantic contexts.
- A love affair, especially a secret or illicit romantic relationship.
- A lover or sweetheart (literary or somewhat old-fashioned usage).
"The novel recounts a doomed amour between two aristocrats on the eve of the revolution."
"Her memoir devotes an entire chapter to a brief but passionate amour in Paris."
"The poet wrote of his amour as though she were the sun itself."
The plural typically refers to multiple love affairs over time, often in biographical or literary description.
"His youthful amours filled several chapters of the biography."
Swap a single letter and your love affair becomes a suit of armour — which may explain why so many doomed romances end badly.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of amour
Amour entered English in the Middle Ages as a borrowing of Old French amor (modern French amour), which descends from Latin amor, meaning 'love', ultimately from the verb amare, 'to love'. The same Latin root gives English amorous, enamoured, amatory, and inamorata, making these true siblings of amour. In French the word remained the ordinary term for love, but in English it narrowed to signify a love affair, especially a discreet or illicit one, a sense reinforced by its use in romantic and courtly literature.
Related word forms
How amour is actually used
Amour carries a distinctly literary, slightly old-fashioned, and often French-inflected tone; it suggests romance tinged with secrecy or scandal more than everyday affection. It is more common in British writing and in historical or romantic fiction than in casual conversation.
Easily confused with amour
Armour is protective metal body covering worn in battle, while amour means a love affair or lover — the two differ by only one letter.
Paramour refers to the lover themselves, whereas amour can mean either the affair or the beloved.