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love
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Illustrated 1910 Valentine card showing Cupid with wings and a blue sash, gathering red heart shapes from a pine tree into a basket. Text reads If you'd only be my Valentine.
A vintage sepia-toned image of two women embracing.
The science behind romantic love and attraction
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Illustrated 1910 Valentine card showing Cupid with wings and a blue sash, gathering red heart shapes from a pine tree into a basket. Text reads If you'd only be my Valentine.
Valentine American valentine card, c. 1910.

love

emotion
Written by
Sophia Decherney
Sophia Decherney is a freelance writer at Encyclopædia Britannica.
Sophia Decherney
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
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•History

love, an emotion characterized by strong feelings of affection for another arising out of kinship, companionship, admiration, or benevolence. In a related sense, “love” designates a benevolent concern for the good or welfare of others. The term is also used to refer to sexual attraction or erotic desire toward another. Love as an individual emotion has been studied in several scientific disciplines, including psychology, biology and neuroscience, anthropology, and sociology. The word love is derived...

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