Leman

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈlÉ›mÉ™n/, /ˈliːmÉ™n/
• Rhymes: -É›mÉ™n

Alternative forms

• leaman
• lemman 13th–17th centuries
• lemon 15th–16th centuries

Origin

From Middle English lemman, from Middle English leofman, from Old English lēof + mann, equivalent to lief + man ("beloved person").

Full definition of leman

Noun

1. (archaic) One beloved; a lover, a sweetheart of either sex (especially a secret lover, gallant, or mistress).
• 1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book VI:He wente that his lemman had layne in that bed, and so he leyde hym adowne by Sir Launcelot and toke hym in his armys and began to kysse hym.
• 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, I.i:Faire Venus seemde vnto his bed to bring
  Her, whom he waking euermore did weene,
  To be the chastest flowre, that ay did spring
  On earthly braunch, the daughter of a king,
  Now a loose Leman to vile seruice bound ....
• 1819, Walter Scott, Ivanhoe:The prisoner I speak of is better booty — a jolly monk riding to visit his leman, an I may judge by his horse-gear and wearing apparel.
2. (often negative) A paramour.
• 1932, Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Sunset Song:And he sent the news to William the Lyon, sitting drinking the wine and fondling his bonny lemans in Edinburgh Town, and William made him the Knight of Kinraddie ….