Philanderers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who engages in love affairs or casual sexual relationships without commitment; someone who tends to flirt or pursue romantic involvements with multiple partners; an individual who is often unfaithful in romantic contexts, demonstrating a lack of loyalty or sincerity in relationships
2. An individual known for having multiple romantic or sexual partners, particularly in a deceitful or insincere manner; someone who shows a tendency to stray from committed relationships; a person characterized by frequent flings or affairs, often valuing pleasure over fidelity
3. A person who is unfaithful in romantic relationships, often pursuing multiple partners concurrently; one who demonstrates a habit of casual love interests and infidelities; an individual who engages in flirtation and temporary romances without deeper emotional involvement

Etymology: The surprise here is that "philander" once meant a lover in a perfectly respectable sense. It comes from Ancient Greek "phílandros," built from "phílos" ("loving") and "anēr" ("man"), so it literally meant something like "man-lover." In Greek the element "andr-" simply referred to a male, and the compound was not in itself a term of disapproval. Over the centuries the word drifted from neutral to suspect. "Philander" was borrowed into English as a name for a lover, and in early modern use it could describe a suitor, but the sense gradually soured as it came to suggest a man who courted many women without serious intent. The "-er" ending, added to form an agent noun, turned that verb-like sense into a label for the type of man who does it. The plural "philanderers" simply names a group of such men.

Synonyms: womanizers, seducers, flirts, casanovas, lovers