loverlike en · ADJ
Etymology
From lover + -like.
Meanings
-
Befitting or characteristic of a lover.
I am very uneaſy to think how I have been drawn on one hand, and driven on the other, into a clandeſtine, in ſhort, into a mere Lover-like correſpondence, which my heart condemns.
1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter XXII”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume I, London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; [a]nd sold by A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, page 148:“So, Miſs Stanhope (said he) you see I am come a courting in a true Lover like Manner.”
[c. 1792], [Jane Austen], “The Three Sisters: a novel”, in Volume the First, page 171:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most loverlike | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more loverlike | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |