Loveth

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. An archaic third-person singular form meaning that someone holds deep affection or fondness for another person
2. Old-fashioned verb form indicating that a person cherishes another with warm, tender feelings of attachment
3. Archaic present tense meaning that he or she holds strong devotion and tenderness toward someone or something

Etymology: "Loveth" is simply the archaic third-person singular present form of "love," built by adding the old "-eth" ending to the verb. In Early Modern and older English, verbs took "-eth" for "he, she, or it" forms, so "he loveth" was the standard way to say "he loves." The ending is the same one that appears in forms like "hath" for "has" and "doeth" for "does." The base word "love" comes from Old English "lufu," and the suffix is a survival of an older Old English ending, "-eþ," which was a regular marker of the third-person singular. Over the centuries the "-eth" ending was gradually replaced by "-s," which spread across dialects, and "loveth" now appears mainly in older literature, the King James Bible, and deliberately archaic speech.

Synonyms: loves, adores

Antonyms: hates, loathes