eros means the god of love and sexual desire; son of either Erebus and Nyx or Aphrodite and Ares. His Roman counterpart is Cupid.
eros is pronounced /ˈɛɹɒs/.
Why “eros” is a great word
Eros is the Greek god of love and sexual desire, and by extension, the concept of passionate, physical love. From Ancient Greek Ἔρως (Érōs), the god's name, from the common noun ἔρως (érōs, 'love, desire'), from the verb ἐράω (eráō, 'to love, desire'); the word entered English in the late 14th century. Unlike *philia*, which denotes deep, platonic friendship and lacks its urgent physicality, or *thanatos*, the Freudian death drive that opposes its life-affirming impulse, eros is the raw, procreative force. It is the shiver of a first touch, the unbearable heat of a shared glance across a crowded room, and the specific gravity that draws one body irreversibly toward another—the fundamental, often inconvenient, pulse that insists we are alive.
Etymology
From Ancient Greek Ἔρως (Érōs).
name
- The god of love and sexual desire; son of either Erebus and Nyx or Aphrodite and Ares. His Roman counterpart is Cupid.e.g.“I'm not just talking about sexually transmitted diseases, though Eros-knows there's precious little information about them available to gay men.”
- 433 Eros, an asteroid.
noun
- A winged figure of a child representing love or its power.
- Physical love; sexual desire.e.g.“He would introduce her to the wonders of eros; she would bloom under his expert tutelage.”
- a type of love that seeks fulfillment without violation or something else.
- libido
- collective instincts for self-preservation; life drive.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- aphrodisiac 84% match — Arousing or intensifying sexual desire. vs eros →
- erastes 84% match — An adult man who loved or was in a pedagogic relationship with an adolescent boy. vs eros →
- anteros 84% match — The counterlove or affectionate response a philerast gives to the love of an erastes. vs eros →
- amoretto 84% match — A cupid or putto (representation of a naked baby or small child, often with wings). vs eros →
- phallus 84% match — A penis, especially when erect. vs eros →
- storge 84% match — Natural affection or love, especially of parents for their children. vs eros →
- eromenos 83% match — An adolescent boy who was loved by an older man, or was in an pedagogic relationship with him. vs eros →
- theophilia 83% match — Love for a god or God. vs eros →