Love in Tennis May Come From the French for Egg
Love is deep affection. In tennis it means zero, for a reason that has never been settled.
Love is deep affection, and in tennis a score of zero. The usual explanation for the tennis sense is French *l'oeuf*, the egg, because a zero is egg-shaped — the same image behind *duck* in cricket and *goose egg* in America. The evidence is thin, and an alternative holds that playing for love means playing for nothing. *Love* is Old English and related to Latin *libet*, it pleases, and to *believe*.
- Deep affection. *In love.*
- Zero in tennis. *Forty love.*
- To like greatly. *I love it.*
- Lovely — delightful. *Lovely.*
- Old English — *lufu*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | love | Love. |
| Verb | love | Loving. |
| Adjective | lovely | Lovely. |
| Adjective | loving | Loving. |
| Old English | lufu | Love. |
- They fell in love.Affection.
- The score is forty love.Tennis.
- Lufu is the Old English form.Etymology.
Zeros shaped like eggs
- Love — possibly from French *l'oeuf*, the egg
- Duck — cricket, from duck's egg
- Goose egg — American, for a score of nothing
- Nil — from Latin *nihil*, nothing, with no egg involved
- The shape of the digit explains most of these
Old English *lufu*, of Germanic origin, related to Latin *libet*, it pleases.
Why does love mean zero in tennis?
Most often explained as French l'oeuf, the egg, because a zero is egg-shaped. The evidence is thin and the question is unsettled.
Are love and believe related?
Yes, distantly. Both go back to an Indo-European root concerning desire and approval.