philanderer - Definitions from Dictionary.com

4 results for: philanderer

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

phi·lan·der

Audio Help [fi-lan-der] Pronunciation Key

–verb (used without object)

(of a man) to make love with a woman one cannot or will not marry; carry on flirtations.

[Origin: 1675–85; < Gk phílandros one who loves (of a woman, loving her husband); see philo-, andro-; later used in fiction as a proper name for a lover, and appar. mistaken as “a man who loves”

]

—Related forms

phi·lan·der·er, noun

—Synonyms trifle, dally, womanize.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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philanderer

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

phi·lan·der Audio Help (fĭ-lān'dər) Pronunciation Key
intr.v. phi·lan·dered, phi·lan·der·ing, phi·lan·ders

To carry on a sexual affair, especially an extramarital affair, with a woman one cannot or does not intend to marry. Used of a man.
To engage in many love affairs, especially with a frivolous or casual attitude. Used of a man.

[From philander, lover, from Philander, former literary name for a lover, from Greek philandros, loving or fond of men : phil-, philo-, philo- + anēr, andr-, man; see ner-² in Indo-European roots.]

phi·lan'der·er n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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