Family - an established relationship between two people who plan a common future and marry. True, on a bumpy path a third person may arise, meeting with one of the partners. So what is the meaning of the word "lover" and why they call them secret passions?
Etymology
If you pay attention to the explanatory dictionary of Krylov, the expression, while maintaining the general meaning, is deciphered in several meanings:
- A girl who was in a romantic relationship with a married man. It’s not necessary with a man.
- A permanent partner who is not a wife, but who engages in regular intimate relationships with a married person.
Regardless of the context, the word "lover" means that the girl is in touch with an outsider who is not her husband. Sometimes they meet secretly. However, there are frequent cases when a wife catches a partner in treason, arranging high-profile scenes, but he does not stop communicating on the side.
Historical roots
The attitude towards women with several partners has undergone many changes over time, forming the meaning of the word “lover”. Church dogmas strictly forbade profligacy, which made traitors feel ashamed of an intimate relationship primarily in front of themselves.
In Ancient Russia, Yaroslav the Wise imposed a fine for adultery, and he was supported until the arrival of Peter the Great, who calmly kept several passions in the palace. The king’s wife, Catherine, did not express a negative attitude towards unknown women in her husband’s chambers, despite public condemnation.
Ancient Rome was loyal to open treason, providing state support to those who decided to live with a second woman. There was a whole institution of cohabitation, dubbed "competiton."
Speech use
The reasons for cheating are always different. This can be regular quarrels, scandals, monotony, stress, congestion, cooled feelings or the usual search for something new.
Currently, the emotional color of the word cannot be called negative. Some adhere to strict morality, preferring to believe that a person should love a partner chosen for life until the end of his days. Other couples, by contrast, believe that cheating does not destroy marriage, but only strengthens it. For example, modern Swedish families, where three partners lead a joint life, do not hide the intimate and romantic relationship from each other.
So, a girl who regularly meets with a married person can be called a mistress. Moreover, she herself can have the status of a wife, supporting only her own search for diversity and vivid emotional impressions.