• Valentine •
Pronunciation: væ-lên-'tayn
Part of Speech: Noun, Verb
Meaning: 1. The name of St. Valentine. 2. A gift or card sent or given to a sweetheart of loved one on St. Valentine's Day, February 14, a day that celebrates love. 3. The sweetheart or loved one to whom a St. Valentine's Day card gift is given.
Notes: The verb, to valentine, means "to serenade or court", used mostly to refer to male birds singing their mating songs. This is the only relative of this lovely word. The verb isn't capitalized but the noun always is because it has yet to escape its eponym, St. Valentine.
In Play: Although the range of this Good Word is rather limited, tomorrow you will hear it a lot, as candy and flower sales surge: "Mommy, I got 33 Valentines in school today." (The sentimental meaning of the day dawns on us later in life.) I still like the verb, since its meaning is rather obvious; "They say, Jasper is seriously valentining Ida Claire these days."
Word History: February 14 originally was a Roman feast day. It was adapted by the Church to a celebration of Roman priest of the 3rd Century, St. Valentine, who was killed during the persecution of Christians by Claudius II. The love connection is based on the medieval assumption that February 14 is the first day of mating season for birds. As Chaucer noted in Parliament of Foules (1381): "For this was on seynt Volantynys day Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make." (For this was on Saint Valentine's day when every bird comes there to choose his mate.) That doesn't mean that St. Valentine's day is for the birds, though. Everyone here at The Lexiteria hope that each and everyone of you find this a very fragrant and chocolaty day.