love
Preserved but no longer current.
At billiards, rackets, and many other games, nothing: five points to none would be "five LOVE,"—a LOVE game being when one player does not score at all. The term is also used at whist, "six LOVE," "four LOVE," when one side has marked up six, four, or any other number, and the other none.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “love” mean?
At billiards, rackets, and many other games, nothing: five points to none would be "five LOVE,"—a LOVE game being when one player does not score at all. The term is also used at whist, "six LOVE," "four LOVE," when one side has marked up six, four, or any other number, and the other none.
Is “love” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.