11 Words You Might Not Realize Come From ‘Love’

Love is in the air—and in many of the words you use every day. From amateur to venom, here are some words from the language of love to keep in mind as Valentine’s Day draws near.

1. Believe
2. Furlough
3. Friday
4. Venom
5. Amateur
6. Charity
7. Philosophy
8. Philanthropy
9. Philadelphia
10. Philip
11. Acidophilus

Believe

In Old English, believe was geliefan, which traces back to the Germanic galaubjan, where laub is the root for “dear” (so believe is “to hold dear”). Laub goes back to the Proto-Indo-European root for “love,” leubh.

Furlough

We got furlough from the Dutch verlof, which traces back to the same Germanic laub root as in believe. It is also related to the sense of leave meaning “allowance” or “permission” (“get leave,” “go on leave”). The “leave” in a furlough is given with pleasure, or approval, which is how it connects back to love.

Friday

Old English Frigedæg was named for Frigg, the Germanic goddess of love (and counterpart to the Roman Venus). According to the Oxford English Dictionary, frīg was also a noun for “strong feminine” love.

Venom

Venom comes from the Latin venenum, which shares a root with the love goddess Venus, and originally referred to a love potion.

Amateur

The root of amateur is Latin amare, “to love.” An amateur practices a craft simply because they love it.

Charity

The Latin caritas, which ended up as charity in English, was a different kind of love than amor—it implied high esteem and piety, rather than romance and passion. It was used to translate the Ancient Greek agape, the word used in the New Testament to express godly love.

Philosophy

Greek had another word for love, philia, that—in contrast to agape and eros (sexual love)—meant “brotherly or friendly love.” It’s used in many classical compounds to signify general fondness or predilection for things. Philosophy is the love of sophos, “wisdom.”

Philanthropy

This one means love of anthropos, “humanity.”

Philadelphia

You might know it as the “city of brotherly love,” but you might not know that the tagline is right there in the name. It’s love for adelphos, “brother.”

Philip

The name Philip comes from the compound phil- and hippos, “love of horses.”

Acidophilus

Have you been taking acidophilus probiotic supplements for digestive health? It’s made from acid-loving bacteria, i.e., bacteria that easily take up an acid dye for viewing under the microscope.

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A version of this story ran in 2015; it has been updated for 2025.