dalliance

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English

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Etymology

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From Middle English daliaunce et al., from dalien (to exchange pleasantries, to chat; to flirt), from Old French dalier, dailer. By surface analysis, dally +‎ -ance.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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dalliance (countable and uncountable, plural dalliances)

  1. Playful flirtation; amorous play. [from 14th c.]
    Synonym: flirtation
  2. An episode of dabbling.
  3. A wasting of time in idleness or trifles. [from 16th c.]
    Synonyms: dawdling, idling, trifling
    • 1922, Michael Arlen, “2/4/1”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days[1]:
      But, with a gesture, she put a period to this dalliance—one shouldn't palter so on an empty stomach, she might almost have said.
  4. A sexual relationship, not serious but often illicit.
    Synonyms: affair, affairette, fling, liaison
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Translations

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Anagrams

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