noun
Meaning 1
A lover.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
philander
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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Received-Pronunciation: /fɪˈlændə/
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General-American: /fɪˈlændəɹ/
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Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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CMU ARPABET: F AH0 L AE1 N D ER0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
A South American opossum, bare-tailed woolly opossum, of species Caluromys philander (syn. Didelphis philander).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
A greater bilby, an Australian marsupial of species Macrotis lagotis (syn. Perameles lagotis).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 4
To woo women; to play the male flirt.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 5
talk or behave amorously, without serious intentions
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- The guys always try to chat up the new secretaries
- My husband never flirts with other women
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: chat up, flirt, dally, butterfly, coquet, coquette, romance, mash
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: talk, speak
Narrower terms: wanton, vamp
verb
Meaning 6
have amorous affairs; of men
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- He has been womanizing for years
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: womanize, womanise
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: interact
History
Etymology
As a verb, first seen in the 1824 play Philandering: Or, The Rose Queen, by Samuel Beazley. From the given name Philander, used for love interest or suitor stock characters in several 18th century stories and poems, from Ancient Greek Φίλανδρος (Phílandros), name of the mythological son of the nymph Acacallis and the god Apollo. Semantically disconnected from the adjective φίλανδρος (phílandros, “loving one’s husband; excessively attracted to males, slutty, boy crazy”).
Across languages
Translations
10 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Finnish: philanderinvillapussirotta — Caluromys philander
- Finnish: venezuelanvillaopossumi — Caluromys philander
- Finnish: isopussikaniini — Macrotis lagotis
- Finnish: isokorvapusseli — Macrotis lagotis
- Swedish: större kaninpunggrävling — Macrotis lagotis
- Bulgarian: флиртувам (flirtuvam) — To make love to women; to play the male flirt
- Estonian: liiderdama — To make love to women; to play the male flirt
- Hebrew: הִתְפַּרְפֵּר (hitparpér) — To make love to women; to play the male flirt
- Portuguese: flirtar — To make love to women; to play the male flirt
- Russian: флиртовать (flirtovatʹ) — To make love to women; to play the male flirt