paramour

noun

1. (archaic)A person who is the object of one's love, especially in an affair or romance; a lover; also, a sexual partner.

   “No ſolace could her Paramour intreat / Her once to ſhovv, ne court, nor dalliaunce, / But vvith bent lovvring brovves, as ſhe vvould threat, / She ſcould, and frovvned vvith frovvard countenaunce, / Vnvvorthy of faire Ladies comely gouernaunce.”

   “It vvas no ſeaſon then for her [Nature] / To vvanton vvith the Sun her luſty Paramour.”

   “Their ſociety vvas more like that of a den of outlavvs upon a doubtful frontier; of a levvd tavern for the revels and debauches of banditti, aſſaſſins, bravos, ſmugglers, and their more deſperate paramours, mixed vvith bombaſtick players, the refuſe and rejected offal of ſtrolling theatres, […]”

   “Yes, in […] these very halls, to have lived the paramour of their murderer, the slave at once and the partaker of his pleasures, was to render every breath which I drew of vital air, a crime and a curse.”

2. (broadly, dated)A person (especially someone who is not one's spouse) with whom one has an illicit or secret affair; also (Scotland, US, law), one with whom a married person has an adulterous affair.

   “to run away with a paramour”

   “And if it ſo that ſhe be not his wyfe (bicauſe ſhe was once his brothers wyfe) as your Doctors ſaye and affirme, then no man can excuſe your kynge nor ſaye but that ſhe hath ben euyil handeled, and kepte lyke a Concubine or Paramour for the bodely appetite, which is a great ſpotte, ſhame, ⁊ rebuke to her and to her whole lynage, […]”

   “I ſue not novv, thy Paramoure to be, / But as a husband to be linck'd to thee.”

   “You vvould believe that the Images of Men-Saints vvere ſome Princes of Perſia-land vvith their proud Apparel; and the Idols of our VVomen-Saints vvere nice vvell-trimmed Harlots tempting their Paramours to vvantonneſs.”

   “A scene unparalleled in our legal history was exhibited in the Court of King's Bench. The seducer [Ford Grey, 1st Earl of Tankerville] appeared with dauntless front, accompanied by his paramour [Lady Henrietta Berkeley, his wife's sister].”

3. (broadly, historical)A woman who is the object of a knight's love, and who he fights for.

   “It is the leaſt of his famous aduentures, that hee vndertaketh to be Greenes [Robert Greene's?] aduocate: […] He may declare his deere affection to his Paramour; or his pure honeſtye to the vvorld; […]”

   “Chloris, the Queene of Flovvers; / The ſvveetneſſe of all Shovvres; / The ornament of Bovvres; / The top of Par-amours!”

4. (broadly, obsolete)God as the object of a person's devotion or love.

   “Clad you with yͤ ſilke of ſinceritie, with yͤ ſaten [satin] of ſanctitie, with the purple of probitie. Thus prune and pricke vp your ſelues, and God himſelfe ſhall be your paramour, ⁊c.”

verb

1. (dated, intransitive)To have an illicit or secret affair with a person, especially someone who is not one's spouse.

   “[W]ine loued I deeply, dice deerely, and in vvoman out paromord the Turke, […]”

   “[I]ndeed a daughter is better ill married, then vvell Paramour'd.”

   “[pages 277–278] A bridle shreded from the skin of an unbaptized infant, with bits forged in Satan’s armoury, possessed irresistible power when shaken above any living thing. […] At midnight, his mistress cautiously approaching his bed-side, shook the charmed bridle over his face, saying ‘Up Horsie,’ when, to his utter astonishment, he arose in the form of a gray horse! […] [page 280] To ride post on the human body was a privilege enjoyed only by those who paramoured with Satan.”

   “[T]he dissection of Charlie Borthwick's character was instantly resumed by Mrs M'Kittrick, who declared that he might ha'e found better employment at hame, than paramouring wi' the like o' Widow M'Cauchie.”

   “The paramouring matron left / A babe and husband both bereft; […]”

adv

1. (not-comparable, obsolete)Of loving, etc.: out of or through romantic feeling or sexual desire; passionately.

   “[…] Cleopatra, doughter of Ptolomee late kinge of Egypt (whome Ceſar [Julius Caesar] in his lyfe helde for his Concubine) the ſame lady Antoni [Mark Antony] (with whome Octauiane [later Augustus] deuided the empire) loued alſo peramours, abandonynge his wyfe, whiche was ſuſter to Octauian.”

   “Because you love par amours, is it reasonable you should throw away your life and ours?”

   “Wolnoth is bound par-amours, to a certain fair Norman dame; and, I trow well, prefers her charms here to the thought of his return.”

2. (not-comparable, obsolete)Used chiefly when addressing someone: out of or through devotion or kindness; as a favour or kindness.

   “[T]he Lord Chiefe Iuſtice ſtood vp, and forbad the proceedings, alotting Paramour the Lands vvith the ſatiſfying of the plaintifes, and thereupon commanded Nailor to giue Thorn againe his Gauntlet, vvhich he vnvvillingly did; and ſo the Combate being ended, vve may haue leaue to proceed.”