Where does “lovey-dovey” come from?
lovey-dovey (English) comes from English Love, from Middle English love, from Old English lufu, from Proto-West Germanic *lubu, from Proto-Germanic lubō, from Proto-Indo-European lewbʰ-, from Proto-Indo-European lēw- — to sound, resound, sing out; to leave.
lovey-dovey (English): affectionate in a rather mushy or oversentimental...
Definitions
- affectionate in a rather mushy or oversentimental...
Ancestry of “lovey-dovey”, step by step
lovey-dovey traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Love
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Love | radiotelephony clear-code word for the letter L |
| 2 | Middle English | love | love; strong and deep affection |
| 3 | Old English | lufu | love |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *lubu | love |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | lubō | love, affection |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | lewbʰ- | to desire, covet, want; to admire, praise; to... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | lēw- | to sound, resound, sing out; to leave |
via English dove
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | dove | A pigeon, especially one smaller in size and white-colored; a bird (often arbitrarily called either a pigeon or a dove or both) of more than three hundred species of the family Columbidae |
| 2 | Middle English | douve | A dove, pigeon, or similar bird; An affectionate... |
| 3 | Old English | dūfe | dove, pigeon |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | dūbǭ | dove, pigeon |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰewbʰ- | deep |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰewh₂- | smoke; mist, haze |