lovey-dovey en · ADJ
Etymology
Etymology tree English love Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ-der.? Proto-Germanic *dūbaną? Proto-Germanic *dūbǭ Proto-West Germanic *dūbā Old English *dūfe Middle English douve English dove English -y English lovey-dovey From love + -y + dove + -y.
Meanings
-
(informal) Affectionate in a rather mushy or oversentimental fashion.
And then when she'd put me right off, and I didn't want her, she'd come all lovey-dovey, and get me. And I always went.
1928, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter 14, in Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Gutenberg edition, [Florence, Italy]: [ […] Tipografia Giuntina, […]], →OCLC; republished as Lady Chatterley’s Lover (eBook no. 0100181h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, August 2011, archived from the original on 11 Nov 2020:This ain't no fooling around / No time for dancing, or lovey dovey / I ain't got time for that now
1979, “Life During Wartime”, in Fear of Music, performed by Talking Heads:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more lovey-dovey | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most lovey-dovey | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Relateds
lovey-doveyness · bill and coo
Synonyms
Translations (7)
he צֶמֶד חֶמֶד (Translations) · pl ckliwy (Translations) · cmn 卿卿我我 (Translations) · es acaramelado (Translations) · cmn 膩膩歪歪 /腻腻歪歪 (Translations) · de turteltäubig (Translations) · es amartelado (Translations)