Philanders

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To engage in numerous casual romantic or sexual relationships
2. To pursue affectionate or sexual interests without serious intentions or commitment
3. To act in a flirtatious manner while lacking genuine emotional investment in the relationships

Etymology: The verb owes its existence to a stock name. In 18th-century stories and poems, "Philander" was a standard name for the lover or suitor, the handsome young man who courts the heroine without much thought of commitment. The name itself comes from Ancient Greek "Phílandros," which belonged to a mythological son of the nymph Acacallis and the god Apollo. Writers reused it so often that it became a type rather than a character. The verb appears in 1824, in Samuel Beazley's play "Philandering: Or, The Rose Queen." So a name that had been attached to a generic lover for roughly a century was turned into an action: to play the Philander. The Greek adjective "phílandros," meaning "loving one's husband," looks like the same word but is unconnected. The English name was simply borrowed from the myth, and its sound happened to match an existing Greek term that means something quite different.

Synonyms: cheats, cuckolds, seduces, betrays, dallies

Antonyms: fidelity, loyalty, faithfulness, commitment, devotion