sweetheartn.
/ˈswiːthɑːt/, U.S. /ˈswitˌhɑrt/ 1.
a. (See heart n. 21.) A term of endearment = darling: used chiefly in the vocative. Also used ironically or contemptuously.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > terms of endearment > [noun]
darlingc888
belamy?c1225
culver?c1225
dearc1230
sweetheartc1290
heartc1300
sweetc1330
honeya1375
dovec1386
jewelc1400
birdc1405
cinnamonc1405
honeycombc1405
lovec1405
wantonc1450
mulling?a1475
daisyc1485
crowdy-mowdy?a1513
honeysop?a1513
powsowdie?a1513
suckler?a1513
foolc1525
buttinga1529
whitinga1529
beautiful1534
turtle-dove1535
soula1538
heartikin1540
bully?1548
turtle1548
lamba1556
nyletc1557
sweet-lovea1560
coz1563
ding-ding1564
pugs1566
golpol1568
sparling1570
lover1573
pug1580
bulkin1582
mopsy1582
chuck1589
bonny1594
chick1594
sweetikin1596
ladybird1597
angel1598
muss1598
pinkany1599
sweetkin1599
duck1600
joy1600
sparrowc1600
sucket1605
nutting1606
chuckaby1607
tickling1607
bagpudding1608
heartling1608
chucking1609
dainty1611
flittermouse1612
honeysuckle1613
fubs1614
bawcocka1616
pretty1616
old thinga1625
bun1627
duckling1630
bulchin1633
bulch?c1640
sweetling1648
friscoa1652
ding-dongs1662
buntinga1668
cocky1680
dearie1681
chucky1683
lovey1684
machree1689
nykin1693
pinkaninny1696
nug1699
hinny1724
puss1753
pet1767
dovey1769
sweetie1778
lovey-dovey1781
lovely1791
ducky1819
toy1822
acushla1825
alanna1825
treat1825
amigo1830
honey child1832
macushla1834
cabbage1840
honey-bunch1874
angel pie1878
m'dear1887
bach1889
honey baby1895
prawn1895
hon1896
so-and-so1897
cariad1899
pumpkin1900
honey-bun1902
pussums1912
snookums1919
treasure1920
wogger1922
amico1929
sugar1930
baby cake1949
angel cake1951
lamb-chop1962
petal1974
bae2006
c1290 St. Kenelm 140 in S. Eng. Leg. 349 Alas..þat ich scholde.. a-bide Þat mi child, mi swete heorte, swych cas schal bi-tide.
c1325 Orfeo 100 Swete hert, he sayde, how may this be?
c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde iii. 1183 For-yeue it me myn owene swete herte. [Cf. 1820 Troylus..Is with Criseyde his owne herte swete.]
1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1845) xvi. 65 Alas! fayre lady, and myne owne swete herte.
1596 T. Nashe Haue with you to Saffron-Walden sig. R v So hath hee his Barnabe and Anthony for his minions and sweet-harts.
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost v. ii. 221 Curtsie sweete hartes, and so the Measure endes. View more context for this quotation
1613 T. Middleton Triumphs of Truth sig. B2 O Welcome my triumphant Lord, My Glories Sweet-heart!
a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) ii. iii. 265 Ros. Vndone, and forfeited to cares for euer. Par. What's the matter sweet-heart ? View more context for this quotation
1649 Εἰκων Βασιλικη App. 274 The King taking the Duke of Glocester upon His Knee, said, Sweet-heart now they will cut off thy Fathers Head.
1679 Tryals Robt. Green, etc. 65 My Husband..called to me, prithee, sweetheart, what hast thou got for my Supper?
1727 M. Delany Autobiogr. & Corr. (1861) I. 136 What interest I have, I shall be very willing to make use of for my sweetheart's service, but nothing can be done till he is sent to school to Westminster.
1845 G. P. R. James Arrah Neil I. i. 9 A gay cavalier..pulled up..and seeing the girl he exclaimed..‘Which is the way to Bishop's Merton, sweetheart?’
1864 Ld. Tennyson Grandmother xiii, in Enoch Arden, etc. 120 Sweetheart, I love you so well that your good name is mine.
1890 H. Caine Bondman iii. vi ‘Ot's the name of your 'ickle boy?’ ‘Ah, I've got none, sweetheart.’
1941 B. Schulberg What makes Sammy Run? iv. 51 (addressing a man) ‘Hiya, sweetheart,’ he said.
1977 F. Parrish Fire in Barley viii. 82 Try harder, sweetheart, or I'll plug you in the guts.
b. North American. Anything especially good of its kind. Cf. honey n. 6a.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [noun] > excellent thing
starOE
dainty1340
daisyc1485
say-piece1535
bravery1583
paragon1585
daint1633
rapper1653
supernaculum1704
dandy1785
roarer1813
sneezer1823
plum1825
trimmer1827
sockdolager1838
rasper1844
dinger1861
job1863
fizzer1866
champagne1880
beauty1882
pie1884
twanger1889
smasher1894
crackerjack1895
Taj Mahal1895
beaut1896
pearler1901
lollapalooza1904
bearcat1909
beaner1911
grande dame1915
Rolls-Royce1916
the nuts1917
pipperoo1939
rubydazzler1941
rumpty1941
rumptydooler1941
snodger1941
sockeroo1942
sweetheart1942
zinger1955
blue-chipper1957
ring-a-ding1959
premier cru1965
sharpie1970
stormer1978
1942 Amer. Speech 17 105/1 Sweetheart, piece of equipment which performs well.
1970 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 28 Sept. 27/7 (advt.) 68 Renault R10, deluxe, radio, a little sweetheart.
1978 Detroit Free Press 2 Apr. 15 f/4 (advt.) Lovely 3 bedrm brick ranch, 1½ baths, re rm, a sweetheart for $45,900.
ΘΠ
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > [noun] > illicit intimacy > person > a mistress
chevesea700
wifeOE
bed-sister1297
concubine1297
leman1297
file1303
speciala1400
womanc1400
chamberer?a1425
mistress?a1439
cousin1470
doxy?1515
doll1560
pinnacea1568
nobsya1575
lier-by1583
sweetheart1589
she-friend1600
miss1606
underput1607
concupy1609
lig-by1610
factoress1611
leveret1617
night-piece1621
belly-piece1632
dolly1648
lie-bya1656
madamc1660
small girl1671
natural1674
convenient1676
lady of the lake1678
pure1688
tackle1688
sultana1703
kind girl1712
bosom-slave1728
pop1785
chère amie1792
fancy-woman1819
hetaera1820
fancy-piece1821
poplolly1821
secondary wife1847
other woman1855
fancy-girl1892
querida1902
wifelet1983
1589 Pappe w. Hatchet in Wks. (1902) III. 399 Ye like not a Bishops rochet, when all your fathers hankerchers were made of his sweete harts smocke.
1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 379 Edith his wife, who..had beene one of king Henrie the First his sweet hearts and lig-bies.
1696 J. Aubrey Misc., Appar. (1784) 107 A gentlewoman, a handsome woman, but common, who was Mr. Mohun's sweet heart.
1796 Grose's Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue (ed. 3) Sweet Heart,..a girl's lover, or a man's mistress.
3. A person with whom one is in love.
ΘΠ
the mind > emotion > love > a lover > [noun] > one who is loved or a sweetheart
copenerc897
lovec1225
lemanc1275
sweetinga1300
druery13..
doceamurc1320
paramoura1375
honeybirdc1390
honey-sweetc1440
dowsec1450
heart-rootc1460
prim1509
joa1529
sweetheart1576
love-mate1582
belamour1590
copemate1593
frister1639
sprunny1739
Liebling1868
Liebchen1876
angel pie1878
loved one1879
cariad1899
square piece1925
sheikha1926
sweetie-pie1928
oppo1932
poopsie1937
mi'jita1970
squeeze1980
boo1988
bae2006
1576 A. Fleming tr. Seneca in Panoplie Epist. 309 One hanges himselfe under his sweetehartes windowe with a twyned haulter.
c1597 N. Breton Figure of Foure ii. §89 Foure creatures goe willingly to their businesse: a Bride to Church, a boy to breckfast, an heire to his land, and a sweet-heart to his loue.
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xxvi. 623 Your sweet-heart and best beloved [L. sponsa] I have entertained, as well,..as she should have bene with your father and mother in law.
1711 E. Budgell Spectator No. 161. ⁋3 Her Sweet-heart, a Person of small Stature.
1787 L. L. Orr Jrnl. Young Lady Virginia (1871) 38 Miss Nancy's sweetheart came to-day.
1802 in Further Evid. Nairne Peerage (1874) 165 in Sessional Papers House of Lords (H.L. D) XII. 199 I shall be well pleased to hear from M. Serre the sweet heart of Sussanne all that concerns them.
1857 C. Dickens Little Dorrit ii. xxiii. 521 Your old sweetheart an't far off, and she's a blabber.
1863 C. Reade Hard Cash li The prejudiced statements of friends and sweethearts, who always swear from the heart rather than from the head and the conscience.
4. colloquial and dialect in various transferred senses.
a. A sugar cake in the shape of a heart; a jam tart.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > cake > [noun] > a cake > heart-shaped cake
sweetheart1732
queen cake1734
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > pastry > tart > [noun] > types of tart
rastona1450
taffety tart1651
raspberry tart1696
feuillantine1706
mazarine1706
cowslip tart1723
Bakewell tart1876
nut tart1886
sweetheart1888
Linzertorte1906
nusstorte1911
kolach1918
quiche1925
pissaladière1931
shoo-fly pie1935
Bakewell1950
tarte Tatin1951
gypsy tart1955
1732 J. Swift Exam. Abuses Dublin 6 There is another Cry.., and it is that of Sweet-hearts [1735 : (note) A Sort of Sugar-Cakes in the Shape of Hearts].
1888 S. O. Addy Gloss. Words Sheffield Sweetheart, a thin tart made by spreading a layer of jam between thin slices of paste.
b. Applied to the burrs or thorny seeds or sprays which attach themselves to a person's clothes; also, a plant bearing these, as species of Desmodium.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > seed > seed-vessel or pericarp > [noun] > bur or prickly seed vessel
burc1330
buzz1612
hedgehog1712
sweetheart1750
tuzzy-muzzy1842
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > leguminous plants > [noun] > tick-trefoil
sweetheart1750
tick-trefoil1853
1750 G. Hughes Nat. Hist. Barbados 213 Sweet-Heart. The pod is intirely incrusted with small setæ or hooked bristles, by which means they tenaciously stick to the cloaths of those who walk among them.
1877 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. Sweetheart, a piece of thorn or briar which becomes attached to a woman's dress and drags along after her.
1913 C. Pettman Africanderisms Sweethearts, the hooked seeds of Bidens pilosa.
c. A tame rabbit.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > order Lagomorpha (rabbits and hares) > [noun] > family Leporidae > genus Oryctolagus (rabbit) > tame or domestic
sweetheart1840
1840 D. P. Blaine Encycl. Rural Sports §2683 Four kinds of rabbits are acknowledged among dealers and fanciers,—warreners, parkers, hedgehogs, and sweethearts... Sweethearts are the tame varieties.
5. A variety of Rosa wichuraiana developed by M. H. Walsh about 1903 which bears clusters of small pink flowers; also = sweetheart rose n. at Compounds below.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > rose and allied flowers > rose > types of rose flower or bush
summer rosea1456
French rose1538
damask rose?a1547
musk rose1559
province1562
winter rose1577
Austrian brier1590
rose of Provence1597
velvet rose1597
damasine-rose1607
Provence rose1614
blush-rose1629
maiden's blush1648
monthly rose tree1664
Provinsa1678
York and Lancaster rose1688
cinnamon rose1699
muscat rose1707
cabbage rose1727
China-rose1731
old-fashioned rose1773
moss rose1777
swamp rose1785
alba1797
Cherokee rose1804
Macartney rose1811
shepherd's rose1818
multiflora1820
prairie rose1822
Boursault1826
Banksian rose1827
maiden rose1827
moss1829
Noisette1829
seven sisters rose1830
Dundee rambler1834
Banksia rose1835
Chickasaw rose1835
Bourbon1836
climbing rose1836
green rose1837
hybrid China1837
Jaune Desprez1837
Lamarque1837
perpetual1837
pillar rose1837
rambler1837
wax rose1837
rugosa1840
China1844
Manetti1846
Banksian1847
remontant1847
gallica1848
hybrid perpetual1848
Persian Yellow1848
pole rose1848
monthly1849
tea rose1850
quarter sessions rose1851
Gloire de Dijon1854
Jacqueminot1857
Maréchal Niel1864
primrose1864
jack1867
La France1868
tea1869
Ramanas rose1876
Japanese rose1883
polyantha1883
old rose1885
American Beauty1887
hybrid tea1890
Japan rose1895
roselet1896
floribunda1898
Zéphirine Drouhin1901
Penzance briar1902
Dorothy Perkins1903
sweetheart1905
wichuraiana1907
mermaid1918
species rose1930
sweetheart rose1936
peace1944
shrub rose1948
1905 Country Life Amer. VII. 625 Sweetheart..delicate blush.
1920 R. Pyle How to grow Roses 106 Some roses have acquired new names... Sweetheart P. Mlle Cecile Brunner.
1955 H. van P. Wilson Climbing Roses v. 75 Sweetheart (1901)... Rose-pink buds open to very double, 2½-inch, white flowers that are richly fragrant.
6. Designating a contract, agreement, etc., arranged privately (i.e. without genuine collective bargaining) by trade unions and employers which is beneficial to themselves but prejudicial to the interests of the workers; (hence) applied to persons, etc., prone to such collaboration. Also transferred. colloquial (originally and chiefly U.S.).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > working > labour relations > [adjective] > type of resolution
sweetheart1959
1959 Washington Post 5 Feb. a2/2 The Administration's ban..would stop an honest union from picketing a shop that had made a substandard ‘sweetheart’ deal, recognizing a racket union.
1962 N. S. Falcone Labor Law xi. 321 Some employers engaged in collusion with unions and paid union officials to get ‘sweetheart’ contracts.
1965 Wall St. Jrnl. 23 Sept. 1/6 The mine manager is a ‘sweetheart’ operator... In the classic ‘sweetheart’ situation, corrupt union leaders accept or extort payoffs from employers in exchange for assuring labour peace or winking at contract violations.
1967 G. Tyler Labor Revol. xi. 243 The contract is a ‘sweetheart agreement’ to give the union heads an income, to give the employer relief from a real union, and to give the workers nothing.
1974 Australian 12 Nov. 3 Miss Martin said Mr Jones' description of the..award as a sweetheart agreement was farcical. The award had been decided by arbitration, not by negotiation between Qantas and the unions.
1975 Publishers Weekly 14 July 54/2 She takes us to three factors, one unorganized, a second with a sweetheart union, the third with an excellent local.
1975 Publishers Weekly 24 Nov. 53/1 Caffery, a 35-year-old hockey star... Keeping his medical problem secret Caffery negotiates a sweetheart contract to jump league to Texas.
1977 Time 1 Aug. 32/2 William Safire..raised the question of whether the $3.4 million loan that was granted on Jan. 7, after Lance had accepted the sensitive OMB job, was a ‘sweetheart loan’.
1979 Times 21 Nov. 20/3 What are known as ‘sweetheart’ transactions (when [supermarket] checkout operators reduce the bill for those they know).
1981 Times 30 Nov. 15/1 Mobil has accused US Steel of an illegal ‘sweetheart deal’ with Marathon board members at the expense of the shareholders.
Compounds
sweetheart neck n. (also sweetheart neckline) a heart-shaped neckline on a dress, blouse, etc. (see quot. 1968).
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > parts of clothing > [noun] > covering or next to neck > neck-line > types of
décolletage1894
décolletée1907
V-neck1910
boat neckline1921
boat neck1922
bateau line1923
halter neck(line)1935
jewel neckline1935
crew neckline1939
jewel neck1940
plunging neckline1940
plunge neckline1941
scoop neck1953
scooped neckline1956
sabrina neckline1959
sweetheart neck1965
1965 Housewife Jan. 16/1 She has a great feeling for a return to the late forties. ‘Wide shoulders, sweetheart necks.’
1968 J. Ironside Fashion Alphabet 54 Sweetheart neckline, a neckline cut in front in two almost semicircular curves, like a heart.
1974 Country Life 17 Jan. 106 Sweater with a sweetheart neckline.
1980 B. Bainbridge Winter Garden xvi. 129 Enid..sauntered through the cool reception hall in her pink summer dress with the sweet~heart neck and emerged into the evening sunshine.
1981 Daily Tel. 21 May 17/2 The bride, of course, was a stunner—all demure in white broderie anglaise with a sweetheart neckline.
sweetheart plant n. either of two species of Philodendron, P. cordatum or P. scandens, epiphytic herbs of tropical America which have large heart-shaped leaves.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > climbing or creeping plants > non-British climbing or creeping plants > [noun] > American or West Indian
water withy1559
West Indian China-root1577
savannah flower1696
water withe1696
Spanish woodbine1731
potato vine1750
Indian grass1753
seven-year vine1756
tropaeolum1759
woodbine1760
water vine1774
canariensis1835
Philodendron1840
Monstera1858
twig-climber1900
money bush1924
potato creeper1925
sweetheart plant1963
1963 Reader's Digest Compl. Libr. of Garden II. 658/1 P[hilodendron] scandens (sweetheart plant) origin: Puerto Rico, Panama. A popular and attractive climbing plant.
1981 Times 28 Mar. 11/4 A 6½ ft sweetheart plant..cost £29.
sweetheart rose n. U.S. one of several roses having small pink, white, or yellow flowers, particularly attractive as buds, esp. the climbing polyantha Cécile Brunner; see also sense 5 above.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > rose and allied flowers > rose > types of rose flower or bush
summer rosea1456
French rose1538
damask rose?a1547
musk rose1559
province1562
winter rose1577
Austrian brier1590
rose of Provence1597
velvet rose1597
damasine-rose1607
Provence rose1614
blush-rose1629
maiden's blush1648
monthly rose tree1664
Provinsa1678
York and Lancaster rose1688
cinnamon rose1699
muscat rose1707
cabbage rose1727
China-rose1731
old-fashioned rose1773
moss rose1777
swamp rose1785
alba1797
Cherokee rose1804
Macartney rose1811
shepherd's rose1818
multiflora1820
prairie rose1822
Boursault1826
Banksian rose1827
maiden rose1827
moss1829
Noisette1829
seven sisters rose1830
Dundee rambler1834
Banksia rose1835
Chickasaw rose1835
Bourbon1836
climbing rose1836
green rose1837
hybrid China1837
Jaune Desprez1837
Lamarque1837
perpetual1837
pillar rose1837
rambler1837
wax rose1837
rugosa1840
China1844
Manetti1846
Banksian1847
remontant1847
gallica1848
hybrid perpetual1848
Persian Yellow1848
pole rose1848
monthly1849
tea rose1850
quarter sessions rose1851
Gloire de Dijon1854
Jacqueminot1857
Maréchal Niel1864
primrose1864
jack1867
La France1868
tea1869
Ramanas rose1876
Japanese rose1883
polyantha1883
old rose1885
American Beauty1887
hybrid tea1890
Japan rose1895
roselet1896
floribunda1898
Zéphirine Drouhin1901
Penzance briar1902
Dorothy Perkins1903
sweetheart1905
wichuraiana1907
mermaid1918
species rose1930
sweetheart rose1936
peace1944
shrub rose1948
1936 J. H. Nicolas Year in Rose Garden xv. 72 Cécile Brunner (Sweetheart Rose): Light pink tea-like flowers.
1976 Columbus (Montana) News 27 May 6/4 She carried a bouquet of yellow sweetheart roses.
Derivatives
ˈsweetheartdom n. Apparently an isolated use.
Π
1887 A. J. Wilson At Mercy of Tiberius xiv In the magical days of sweetheartdom, a silvery glorifying glamour wraps the world.
ˈsweetheartship n. Apparently an isolated use.
Π
1898 Tit-bits 30 Apr. 85/1 The premature sweetheartship that existed between them.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1919; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
sweetheartv.
1. transitive. To make a sweetheart of; to court, make love to.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > courtship or wooing > court or woo [verb (transitive)] > make sweetheart of
sweetheart1805
1805 R. Anderson Ballads in Cumberland Dial. 83 I yence sweethearted Madge o' th' mill.
1861 H. Mayhew London Labour (new ed.) III. 390/1 One of his mates sweethearted the servant.
1893 S. Baring-Gould Cheap Jack Zita II. xviii. 87 Mark Runham running after two girls, sweethearting both.
2. intransitive. To be, or act the part of, a sweetheart; to court a sweetheart, make love.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > a lover > be someone's sweetheart [verb (intransitive)]
sweetheart1798
to be someone's huckleberry1880
1798 T. Morton Speed the Plough (1800) v. i. 70 Remember how I used to let thee zit up all night a sweethearting.
1824 J. Mactaggart Sc. Gallovidian Encycl. 444 Teevo,..one who learns the rules of affectation, who sweethearts with warmness seemingly.
1873 G. C. Davies Mountain, Meadow & Mere xvi. 135 He had gone in the country for his Sunday outing, sweethearting.
1883 Harper's Mag. July 165/1 The lanes in which he has sweethearted.
1898 R. Kearton Wild Life at Home 53 I watched a pair of red-backed shrikes or butcher-birds, sweethearting.
Derivatives
ˈsweethearting n. and adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > a lover > [adjective]
amatorial1603
sweetheartinga1834
the mind > emotion > love > a lover > [noun] > being or acting the part of a sweetheart
sweetheartinga1834
a1834 S. T. Coleridge Lit. Remains (1839) IV. 68 Then her Spanish sweet-hearting, doubtless in the true Oroondates style.
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 379/2 It's that I go for, love and sweet-hearting.
1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. II. vii. 118 There was this sweethearting after old Simon's daughter.
1866 Morning Star 18 Apr. 4/5 The sweet~hearting portion of the audience.
1874 L. Carr Judith Gwynne I. iv. 104 She remembered..how she and William had carried on in those happy sweethearting days.
ˈsweethearter n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > a lover > [noun]
friendOE
lovendOE
lotebyc1330
lovera1382
honeyc1405
amorousa1492
belovera1492
amant1508
fantasera1547
mate1549
Romeo?1566
inamorato1592
amorite1597
amorettoc1600
inamorate1602
amorado1607
enamorate1607
amoroso1616
admirer1640
passionate1651
brother starling1675
sweethearter1854
lovebird1858
mateya1864
jelly roll1895
lovekin1896
main squeeze1896
lovekins1920
romancer1923
playmate1928
heartthrob1929
bae2006
1854 R. S. Surtees Handley Cross (new ed.) lxxix. 545 Venting her spleen on Doleful and all dilatory sweethearters.
1886 H. Caine Son of Hagar i. vii You Colebank chaps are famous sweethearters, I hear.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1919; most recently modified version published online September 2020).
<
n.c1290
v.1798