Cultural Views
Ancient Roman (Latin)
The Latin language has several different verbs corresponding to the English word "love."
Amāre is the basic word for
to love, as it still is in Italian today. The Romans used it both in an affectionate sense as well as in a romantic or sexual sense. From this verb come
amans—a lover, amator, "professional lover," often with the accessory notion of lechery—and
amica, "girlfriend" in the English sense, often as well being applied euphemistically to a prostitute. The corresponding noun is
amor, which is also used in the plural form to indicate love affairs or sexual adventures. This same root also produces
amicus—"friend"—and
amicitia, "friendship" (often based to mutual advantage, and corresponding sometimes more closely to "indebtedness" or "influence"). Cicero wrote a treatise called
On Friendship (
de Amicitia), which discusses the notion at some length. Ovid wrote a guide to dating called
Ars Amatoria (
The Art of Lovers), which addresses, in depth, everything from extramarital affairs to overprotective parents.
Complicating the picture somewhat, Latin sometimes uses
amāre where English would simply say
to like. This notion, however, is much more generally expressed in Latin by
placere or
delectāre, which are used more colloquially, the latter used frequently in the love poetry of Catullus.
Diligere often has the notion "to be affectionate for," "to esteem," and rarely if ever is used for romantic love. This word would be appropriate to describe the friendship of two men. The corresponding noun
diligentia, however, has the meaning of "diligence" or "carefulness," and has little semantic overlap with the verb.
Observare is a synonym for
diligere; despite the cognate with English, this verb and its corresponding noun,
observantia, often denote "esteem" or "affection."
Caritas is used in Latin translations of the Christian Bible to mean "charitable love"; this meaning, however, is not found in Classical pagan Roman literature. As it arises from a conflation with a Greek word, there is no corresponding verb.
