loteby means A lover, paramour; a concubine. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 88 out of 100.
Why “loteby” is a great word
LOTEBY — [Noun] A clandestine lover, defined by furtive proximity and concealment. From Middle English loteby (c. 1330), equivalent to obsolete lote ("to lurk, lie hidden") + by ("near, adjacent"). Unlike "paramour," which specifies an illicit affair, or "concubine," which implies a formalized secondary station, a loteby is a gender-neutral figure of pure stealth. It is the shadow behind a half-drawn curtain, the rustle in the servants' passage after midnight, the warmth lingering on a pillow that has no right to be there—the quiet, breathing evidence of a life lived just out of sight, an affection whose primary condition is that it must never be seen.
Etymology
From Middle English loteby, equivalent to lote + by.
noun
- A lover, paramour; a concubine.“Prouendreth persones · and prestes she meynteneth / To haue lemmannes and lotebies · alle here lif-dayes.”