lovey-dovey

English

Etymology

love +‎ -y +‎ dove +‎ -y

Adjective

lovey-dovey (comparative more lovey-dovey, superlative most lovey-dovey)

1. (informal) Affectionate in a rather mushy or oversentimental fashion.
   • 1928, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter 14, in Lady Chatterley’s Lover, [Florence, Italy: […] Tipografia Giuntina, […]], →OCLC; republished as Lady Chatterley’s Lover (eBook no. 0100181h.html)‎^[1], Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, August 2011, archived from the original on 11 November 2020:

     And then when she'd put me right off, and I didn't want her, she'd come all lovey-dovey, and get me. And I always went.

   • 1979, “Life During Wartime”, in Fear of Music, performed by Talking Heads:

     This ain't no fooling around / No time for dancing, or lovey dovey / I ain't got time for that now

Synonyms

• kissy-kissy

Related terms

• lovey-doveyness

Translations

Translations

• German: turteltäubig
• Hebrew: צֶמֶד חֶמֶד m (tzémed ẖémed) (noun phrase)
• Spanish: amartelado (es), acaramelado (es)

See also

• bill and coo