DIRECTORY OF BEAUTIFUL WORDS
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About Site | What’s New? | Feedback | Help
My Writing Portfolio at www.bykairos.com MAIN DIRECTORY
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- Word and Literary Reference Corner language and writing reference resources
- The Beauty of Language and Words - the words we discover and find through reading
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DIRECTORY
CAPACITY FOR LOVE: A look at love, affection, and sex and all that is wrapped up in relationships.
WordMap: Love and Romance
TRY THESE OTHER LISTS
Defining Love With the Romance of French
Sex Terms You Didn’t Know You Needed
A Tantalizing Quiver of Attraction
Defining Beautiful Resplendently
Translating Your Feelings
FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS
Feelings from the Dark Side of the Moon -
FEATURED LISTS
THE STORY OF SOULMATES - View | File
OTHER RELATED FEATURES
PONDERING THE PHOBIA
Complete. collection of phobias to peruse and ponder and if you need help, check the library for the associated content from my books and self care guides on managing fear and anxiety.
WordMap: Love and Romance
- The Greek Definition of Love
- In English it’s Sexy, In French it’s Séduisant
- Where do Broken Hearts Go?
- No Emoji Poetry. Try Seductive and Sensual
- How We Can Express Attraction and Love
- Words of Love for Your Writing
- Untranslatable Words for Love - words of the world with no English equivalent
TRY THESE OTHER LISTS
Defining Love With the Romance of French
Sex Terms You Didn’t Know You Needed
A Tantalizing Quiver of Attraction
Defining Beautiful Resplendently
Translating Your Feelings
FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS
- Feelings You Can’t Define - Obscure Sorrows
- Feelings You Have No Word For
- Universal Words for Happiness
- Perfect Happiness,, Serenity & Sweetness
- Neither Good Nor Bad - Words of Apathy
Feelings from the Dark Side of the Moon -
FEATURED LISTS
THE STORY OF SOULMATES - View | File
- Truth to the Story of Soulmates
- Fleeting Moment in the Construct of Time
- Forever in an Infinite Cycle of Eternity
- Spinning the Hands of Fate
- The Ties That Bind Two Souls
- Cosmic Roadmap for Gods at the Wheel
- An Answer to the Story of Soulmates
- BONUS: Reference Guide to Mythology
- The Greeks Wrote the Book on Love
- Plato’s Symposium Syllabus of Sex
- Dictionary of Delicious Debauchery
- A Kiss in the Science Lab of Love
- Kama Sutra Kissing Authority
- Kissing Vocabulary: Obscure ~ World
OTHER RELATED FEATURES
PONDERING THE PHOBIA
Complete. collection of phobias to peruse and ponder and if you need help, check the library for the associated content from my books and self care guides on managing fear and anxiety.
ASSOCIATED BOOK
SECRETS OF THE HEART
Defining and Understanding the Meaning of Attraction, Lust, Affection, Love, Sex
Love. We think about it, sing about it, dream about it, worry about it. When we don’t have it, we search for it; when we discover it, we don’t know what to do with it; and when we have it, we fear losing it. How to define it? Do we understand it?
PREVIEW ONLINE | DOWNLOAD BOOK
Love. We think about it, sing about it, dream about it, worry about it. When we don’t have it, we search for it; when we discover it, we don’t know what to do with it; and when we have it, we fear losing it. How to define it? Do we understand it?
PREVIEW ONLINE | DOWNLOAD BOOK
THE GREEK DEFINITIONS
OF LOVE
The ancient Greeks found diverse kinds of love in relationships with a wide range of people—friends, family, spouses, strangers, and even themselves. This contrasts with our typical focus on a single romantic relationship, where we hope to find all the different loves wrapped into a single person or soul mate. For Plato, love aims at beautiful and good things, because the possession of beautiful and good things is called happiness, and happiness is an end-in-itself.
AGÁPE (ἀγάπη agápē) means unconditional love:. Includes brotherly love, charity, the love of God for man and of man for God. Agape is unconditional love and is used in ancient texts to denote feelings for one's children and the feelings for a spouse. Agape is used by Christians to express the unconditional love of God for his children.
ÉROS (ἔρως érōs) means "love, sexual passion". The Greek word "erotas" means "intimate love". Plato refined his own definition: Although eros is initially felt for a person, with contemplation it becomes an appreciation of the beauty within that person, or even becomes appreciation of beauty itself. Plato does not talk of physical attraction as a necessary part of love, hence the use of the word platonic to mean, "without physical attraction". In the Symposium, the most famous ancient work on the subject, Plato has Socrates argue that eros helps the soul recall knowledge of beauty, and contributes to an understanding of spiritual truth, the ideal Form of youthful beauty that leads us humans to feel erotic desire – thus suggesting that even that sensually based love aspires to the non-corporeal, spiritual plane of existence; that is, finding its truth, just like finding any truth, leads to transcendence. Lovers and philosophers are all inspired to seek truth through the means of eros.
PHILIA (φιλία philía) means friendship. It also means affectionate regard, usually between equals. It is a dispassionate virtuous love, a concept developed by Aristotle. In his work on ethics, philia is expressed variously as loyalty to friends (specifically, brotherly love), family, and community, and requires virtue, equality, and familiarity. Philos is also the root of philautia which means self-love, a general type of love, love between family, between friends, a desire or enjoyment of an activity, as well as love between lovers.
STORGE (στοργή storgē) means affection. Like the love between parents and children. It is the common or natural empathy, like that felt by parents for offspring. Rarely used in ancient works, and then almost exclusively as a descriptor of relationships within the family. It is also known to express mere acceptance or putting up with situations, as in "loving" the tyrant. This is also used when referencing the love for one's country or a favorite sports team.
PHILAUTIA (φιλαυτία, philautía) means self-love. To love oneself or to have regard for one's own happiness has been conceptualized both as a basic human necessity and as a moral flaw, akin to vanity and selfishness. These are synonymous with egotism. The Greeks further divided this love into positive and negative - the unhealthy version, (self-obsessed love), and the concept of self-compassion. The idea was that if you like yourself and feel secure in yourself, you will have plenty of love to give others (as is reflected in the Buddhist-inspired concept of self-compassion). Aristotle put it nicely, “All friendly feelings for others are an extension of a man’s feelings for himself.”
XENIA (Greek: ξενία) means hospitality. It is sometimes translated as 'guest-friendship' or 'ritualized friendship'. It is an institutionalized relationship rooted in generosity, gift exchange, and reciprocity. Historically, hospitality towards foreigners and guests (Hellenes not of your polis) was understood as a moral obligation.
LUDUS (Παιχνίδια) means playful love. Following the Roman poet Ovid, scholars commonly use the Latin word ludus to describe the form of love, associated with the playful affection between children or casual lovers.
PRAGMA (πράγμα) means long standing love. The use of the root pragma as a form of love was popularized by the Canadian sociologist John Allen Lee in the 1970s. He described it as a mature, realistic love that is commonly found between long-established couples. Pragma is about making compromises and showing patience and tolerance. There is little evidence that the Greeks used this term themselves, so it is best thought of as a modern definition. Psychoanalyst Erich Fromm said that we expend too much energy on “falling in love” and need to learn more how to “stand in love.” Pragma is precisely about standing in love—making an effort to give love rather than just receive it.
MANIA - ( μανία, meaning mental disorder) is an obsessive love. This type of love typically begins with strong feelings of eros that take a dark or destructive path. People who experience this type of love can exhibit extreme jealousy or become obsessively codependent on their partners. It can lead to stalking behaviors or worse, as the person who feels mania is desperate to keep the relationship going.
RELATED WORDS
KOINŌNÍAIS is a momentary love and pertains to feelings of communion, sharing, and intimacy. it is a momentary spark between people, such as a meaningful flash of eye contact, or a shared moment of ‘participatory consciousness’ This momentary type of love is captured by the French noun frisson, which depicts a sudden thrill, involving a potent combination of fear and excitement.
ROMANTIC LOVE is a mix of emotional and sexual desire. This contrasts platonic love. There is often more emphasis on the emotions than on physical pleasure. Romantic love became a recognized passion in the Middle Ages, when in some cases insurmountable barriers of morality or convention separated the lovers. The effect of physical attraction and impossibility of intimacy resulted in an excessive regard of the beloved as extremely precious. Winning the love, or at least the attention, of the beloved, motivated great efforts of many kinds, such as poetry, song or feats of arms. Historians believe that the actual English word "romance" developed from a vernacular dialect within the French language, meaning "verse narritve", referring to the style of speech and writing, and artistic talents within elite classes. The word was originally an adverb of sorts, which was of the Latin origin "Romanicus", meaning "of the Roman style", "like the Romans"
PLATONIC LOVE is a nonsexual love. The term is named after Plato, though the philosopher never used the term himself. Platonic love, as devised by Plato, concerns rising through levels of closeness to wisdom and true beauty, from carnal attraction to individual bodies to attraction to souls, and eventually, union with the truth. The English term "platonic" dates back to 1635 in a critique of the philosophy of platonic love. It was derived from the concept in Plato's Symposium of a person's love for the idea of good, which he considered to lie at the root of all virtue and truth.
SOCRATIC LOVE is a mutually uplifting love. Each partner seeks to help bring out the good in the other, to uplift the other's understanding, and to do so by learning through an exchange of ideas. Socrates strove to find the truth in love. He was the “ideal lover of wisdom”, never allowing himself to divert from the real pursuit of beauty: Since beauty is one of the true and ultimate objectives of love. Socrates states that, “Love is the consciousness of a need for a good not yet acquired or possessed.” In other words we want what we do not have, and at times cannot have. According to Socrates, we desire what we do not have, for it would be foolish to desire something that we already possess. When we see beauty, and when we do not have beauty, we desire it. As love is the desire for those who are beautiful, given beauty’s subjectivity, then love is the desire for the beauty that we do not see in ourselves.
AGÁPE (ἀγάπη agápē) means unconditional love:. Includes brotherly love, charity, the love of God for man and of man for God. Agape is unconditional love and is used in ancient texts to denote feelings for one's children and the feelings for a spouse. Agape is used by Christians to express the unconditional love of God for his children.
ÉROS (ἔρως érōs) means "love, sexual passion". The Greek word "erotas" means "intimate love". Plato refined his own definition: Although eros is initially felt for a person, with contemplation it becomes an appreciation of the beauty within that person, or even becomes appreciation of beauty itself. Plato does not talk of physical attraction as a necessary part of love, hence the use of the word platonic to mean, "without physical attraction". In the Symposium, the most famous ancient work on the subject, Plato has Socrates argue that eros helps the soul recall knowledge of beauty, and contributes to an understanding of spiritual truth, the ideal Form of youthful beauty that leads us humans to feel erotic desire – thus suggesting that even that sensually based love aspires to the non-corporeal, spiritual plane of existence; that is, finding its truth, just like finding any truth, leads to transcendence. Lovers and philosophers are all inspired to seek truth through the means of eros.
- In Freudian psychology, Eros, also referred to in terms of libido , libidinal energy or love, is the life instinct innate in all humans. It is the desire to create life and favors productivity and construction
PHILIA (φιλία philía) means friendship. It also means affectionate regard, usually between equals. It is a dispassionate virtuous love, a concept developed by Aristotle. In his work on ethics, philia is expressed variously as loyalty to friends (specifically, brotherly love), family, and community, and requires virtue, equality, and familiarity. Philos is also the root of philautia which means self-love, a general type of love, love between family, between friends, a desire or enjoyment of an activity, as well as love between lovers.
STORGE (στοργή storgē) means affection. Like the love between parents and children. It is the common or natural empathy, like that felt by parents for offspring. Rarely used in ancient works, and then almost exclusively as a descriptor of relationships within the family. It is also known to express mere acceptance or putting up with situations, as in "loving" the tyrant. This is also used when referencing the love for one's country or a favorite sports team.
PHILAUTIA (φιλαυτία, philautía) means self-love. To love oneself or to have regard for one's own happiness has been conceptualized both as a basic human necessity and as a moral flaw, akin to vanity and selfishness. These are synonymous with egotism. The Greeks further divided this love into positive and negative - the unhealthy version, (self-obsessed love), and the concept of self-compassion. The idea was that if you like yourself and feel secure in yourself, you will have plenty of love to give others (as is reflected in the Buddhist-inspired concept of self-compassion). Aristotle put it nicely, “All friendly feelings for others are an extension of a man’s feelings for himself.”
XENIA (Greek: ξενία) means hospitality. It is sometimes translated as 'guest-friendship' or 'ritualized friendship'. It is an institutionalized relationship rooted in generosity, gift exchange, and reciprocity. Historically, hospitality towards foreigners and guests (Hellenes not of your polis) was understood as a moral obligation.
LUDUS (Παιχνίδια) means playful love. Following the Roman poet Ovid, scholars commonly use the Latin word ludus to describe the form of love, associated with the playful affection between children or casual lovers.
PRAGMA (πράγμα) means long standing love. The use of the root pragma as a form of love was popularized by the Canadian sociologist John Allen Lee in the 1970s. He described it as a mature, realistic love that is commonly found between long-established couples. Pragma is about making compromises and showing patience and tolerance. There is little evidence that the Greeks used this term themselves, so it is best thought of as a modern definition. Psychoanalyst Erich Fromm said that we expend too much energy on “falling in love” and need to learn more how to “stand in love.” Pragma is precisely about standing in love—making an effort to give love rather than just receive it.
MANIA - ( μανία, meaning mental disorder) is an obsessive love. This type of love typically begins with strong feelings of eros that take a dark or destructive path. People who experience this type of love can exhibit extreme jealousy or become obsessively codependent on their partners. It can lead to stalking behaviors or worse, as the person who feels mania is desperate to keep the relationship going.
RELATED WORDS
- Pothos and himeros are ‘desire’, ‘longing’ and ‘yearning’
- Epithumia is another word for ‘lustful desire’.
- Pathos can mean ‘passion’ in a damaging or deviant context
- Hubris is ‘uncontrolled, violent sex
- Akrateia or akolasia is unbridled passion
- Enkrateia or sophrosyne,is ‘‘moderation’
- Epithymia pertains to passionate love, encompassing qualities such as sensual desire and physical attraction.
KOINŌNÍAIS is a momentary love and pertains to feelings of communion, sharing, and intimacy. it is a momentary spark between people, such as a meaningful flash of eye contact, or a shared moment of ‘participatory consciousness’ This momentary type of love is captured by the French noun frisson, which depicts a sudden thrill, involving a potent combination of fear and excitement.
ROMANTIC LOVE is a mix of emotional and sexual desire. This contrasts platonic love. There is often more emphasis on the emotions than on physical pleasure. Romantic love became a recognized passion in the Middle Ages, when in some cases insurmountable barriers of morality or convention separated the lovers. The effect of physical attraction and impossibility of intimacy resulted in an excessive regard of the beloved as extremely precious. Winning the love, or at least the attention, of the beloved, motivated great efforts of many kinds, such as poetry, song or feats of arms. Historians believe that the actual English word "romance" developed from a vernacular dialect within the French language, meaning "verse narritve", referring to the style of speech and writing, and artistic talents within elite classes. The word was originally an adverb of sorts, which was of the Latin origin "Romanicus", meaning "of the Roman style", "like the Romans"
PLATONIC LOVE is a nonsexual love. The term is named after Plato, though the philosopher never used the term himself. Platonic love, as devised by Plato, concerns rising through levels of closeness to wisdom and true beauty, from carnal attraction to individual bodies to attraction to souls, and eventually, union with the truth. The English term "platonic" dates back to 1635 in a critique of the philosophy of platonic love. It was derived from the concept in Plato's Symposium of a person's love for the idea of good, which he considered to lie at the root of all virtue and truth.
SOCRATIC LOVE is a mutually uplifting love. Each partner seeks to help bring out the good in the other, to uplift the other's understanding, and to do so by learning through an exchange of ideas. Socrates strove to find the truth in love. He was the “ideal lover of wisdom”, never allowing himself to divert from the real pursuit of beauty: Since beauty is one of the true and ultimate objectives of love. Socrates states that, “Love is the consciousness of a need for a good not yet acquired or possessed.” In other words we want what we do not have, and at times cannot have. According to Socrates, we desire what we do not have, for it would be foolish to desire something that we already possess. When we see beauty, and when we do not have beauty, we desire it. As love is the desire for those who are beautiful, given beauty’s subjectivity, then love is the desire for the beauty that we do not see in ourselves.
CAPACITY FOR LOVE: A look at love, affection, and sex and all that is wrapped up in relationships.
WordMap: Love and Romance
FEATURED LISTS
Story of Soulmates - View | File
Greek Origins of Erotic Vocabulary ~ View | File
The Defining Story of the Kiss ~ View | File
WordMap: Love and Romance
- The Greek Definition of Love
- In English it’s Sexy, In French it’s Séduisant
- Where do Broken Hearts Go?
- No Emoji Poetry. Try Seductive and Sensual
- How We Can Express Attraction and Love
- Words of Love for Your Writing
- Untranslatable Words for Love - words of the world with no English equivalent
- The Phile Words - Defining Affection
- The Mania Words - Defining Obsession
- The Phobia Words - Defining Dislike
FEATURED LISTS
Story of Soulmates - View | File
Greek Origins of Erotic Vocabulary ~ View | File
The Defining Story of the Kiss ~ View | File
A BEAUTIFUL WORD ... a vocabulary site for logophiles, writers and word lovers that is part of
A SERIES OF BEAUTIFUL WORDS
Collection of Vocabulary Books, Sites and Resources
Series Homepage | View Sites | Download Books
Words are also posted on twitter under the hashtags #beautifulwords and #wordoftheday and shared visually on pinterest bulletin boards
ABOUT SITE | SITEMAPS | SEARCH | FEEDBACK
Content by Kairos ~ @kairosoflife
Homepage | Portfolio | Contact
Original content © 2021 Copyright, Kairos
A SERIES OF BEAUTIFUL WORDS
Collection of Vocabulary Books, Sites and Resources
Series Homepage | View Sites | Download Books
Words are also posted on twitter under the hashtags #beautifulwords and #wordoftheday and shared visually on pinterest bulletin boards
ABOUT SITE | SITEMAPS | SEARCH | FEEDBACK
Content by Kairos ~ @kairosoflife
Homepage | Portfolio | Contact
Original content © 2021 Copyright, Kairos
