Love
Connection and caring for another. Not possessive or conditional. Our driving force and only real salvation. Whether we realize it or not.
How We Say It
luv
Where It Comes From
Old English lufu. From Proto-Germanic *lubo. Related to Latin libet (it pleases). Ancient Greek distinguished multiple types — eros (passionate), philia (friendship), storge (familial), agape (selfless). English flattens them all into one word.
How It's Been Used
Used across religious, romantic, familial, civic, and aesthetic registers without distinguishing them grammatically. The Greek typology has been revived in psychology and theology to mark distinctions the English word obscures. C.S. Lewis's The Four Loves popularized the framework. Modern psychological research distinguishes attachment, passion, and intimacy as separable components.