noun Archaic.
- a sweetheart; lover; beloved.
- a mistress.
noun archaic
- a beloved; sweetheart
- a lover or mistress
noun
- Lac Léman the French name for (Lake) Geneva
n.“sweetheart, paramour” (archaic), late 13c., from Middle English leofman (c.1200), from Old English leof “dear” (see lief) + man “human being, person” (see man (n.)). Originally of either gender, though deliberate archaic usage tends to limit it to women.