true love

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English trewe love, from Old English trēow-lufu. === Noun === true love (countable and uncountable, plural true loves) (originally) Faithful love. (uncountable) Feelings of love that are adhered to faithfully, or the faithful manifestation of such feelings. 1595–1596, William Shakespeare, Loues Labour's loſt, act I, scene ii: I shall be forsworn, which is a great argument of falsehood, if I love. And how can that be true love which is falsely attempted? Love is a familiar; Love is a devil: there is no evil angel but Love, […] 1875, Sidney Lanier, “The Symphony”: When all’s done, what hast thou wonOf the only sweet that’s under the sun?Ay, canst thou buy a single sighOf true love’s least, least ecstasy? (countable) A lover who is faithful to the object of his or her affection or faithfully loved themselves. 1765, “Waly Waly, Love Be Bonny”, as quoted in Reliques of Ancient English Poetry: Consisting of Old Heroic Ballads, Songs, and Other Pieces of Our Earlier Poets (1905), Thomas Percy (editor): I leant my back unto an aik,I thought it was a trusty tree;But first it bow’d, and fyne it brak,Sae my true love did lightly me. (by later reinterpretation) Love that is in some sense purer or more unique than ordinary love. (uncountable) The form of romantic affection that is considered pure and wholly positive, not just based on feelings of lust and sex. (countable) The unique individual for whom one feels such affection. (uncountable) The situation in which a couple is perfectly compatible and there is no better relationship, as set by a greater force such as God or fate. (countable) A thing for which a person feels an intense love. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Anagrams === revolute