Saturday Word: Limerence

[theidolhands.livejournal.com]

lim·er·ence [ˈlɪmɪrəns]:
origin: (1977) American; coined by Prof. Dorothy Tennov (psychology) University of Bridgeport, Connecticut - no specific etymology.



noun (verb: limerent)
Have you seen Madonna in the film Who's That Girl (1987)? Moriarty from Sherlock Holmes? Or how Elsbeth Tascioni from The Good Wife interacts with an attorney named Josh? The failed experience within Julie & Julia (2009)?

Then you'll have some memory reference for this word!

Limerence is that sudden fixation, fascination, maybe even a slight obsession with another person and it comes over you all of a sudden. You think & fantasize about them all the time! It may be romantic or platonic, but basically you need that person's respect/admiration/attention and you can't control the feelings that you're having -- it's kismet, an involuntary attachment, and desire for reciprocation.

If you care to share, who is someone that you've been limerent for?

Or perhaps another fictional example of a limerence?

Comments

[slfcllednowhere.livejournal.com]

My favourite band has a song about this word! John Linnell of They Might Be Giants was challenged by the editor of the Oxford American Dictionary to write a song using three obscure words, just so she would have a citation for them to include them in the dictionary, and "limerent" was one of them. (And it just so happens that I am very limerent about him!)

[theidolhands.livejournal.com]

That's amazing! Thank you so much for sharing that and believe it or not, that's the SECOND comment I've received concerning TMBG (take a look at my recent entries for the other).

[prettygoodword.livejournal.com]

I've always heard it defined as "the state of falling in love" as opposed to "being in love."

[theidolhands.livejournal.com]

There is that element, but it's more specific, because one requires reciprocation.