Loving

How to spell loving

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce loving

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does loving mean?

1. adjectiveShowing or feeling great affection, warmth, or care toward someone.

Loving in a sentence

• She sent a loving message to her parents before the flight.

• The children grew up in a stable and loving home.

Where does loving come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word grows directly from the native English verb 'love', which descends from the Old English lufian, meaning 'to hold dear' or 'to feel affection for', and ultimately from the noun lufu, 'love'. These trace back to a Proto-Germanic root that also gave German 'lieben' and is related to the Latin family behind 'libido', all carrying the sense of strong desire or fondness. The form 'loving' is the present participle and verbal adjective, made by attaching the productive '-ing' ending, and it has been in continuous use since the early Middle English period. The spelling trap is invisible but real: because 'love' ends in a silent 'e', that 'e' is dropped before '-ing', so the correct form is 'loving', never 'loveing'. The same silent-e rule shapes related forms such as 'living' and 'caring', which is a useful pattern to remember.

How the word is built

• love (Old English lufu, affection)
• -ing (adjective/participle suffix)