amor (Portuguese)
Where does "amor" come from?
The Portuguese word 'amor' descends from the Latin 'amorem,' which originally stemmed from an ancient Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'to grasp' or 'to take hold.' Over time, this evolved from the physical act of taking someone by the hand to the abstract concept of regarding someone as a friend, eventually shifting toward the deep emotional affection we identify as love today.
Full etymology tree
- amor (Portuguese), 'love'
- inherited amōrem (Latin), 'accusative singular of amor'
- derived amō (Latin), 'to love'
- inherited *amō (Proto-Italic), 'to get hold of'
- derived *h₃emh₃- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to grab, to grasp, to seize, to take hold, tackle, touch'
- inherited *amō (Proto-Italic), 'to get hold of'
- suffix -or (Latin), 'used to form an abstract noun from a verb root or conceived root form'
- derived amō (Latin), 'to love'
- inherited amōrem (Latin), 'accusative singular of amor'
Ancestors
- amor (Old Galician-Portuguese)
- amor (Latin)
Descendants and derived words
- amôr (Macanese)
- amor à primeira vista (Portuguese)
- amorável (Portuguese)
- amor-perfeito (Portuguese)
- amor-próprio (Portuguese)
- antiamor (Portuguese)
- cair de amores (Portuguese)
- carta de amor (Portuguese)
- desamor (Portuguese)
- fazer amor (Portuguese)
- maçã do amor (Portuguese)
- mô (Portuguese)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris