agape

noun

aga·​pe ä-ˈgä-(ˌ)pā  ˈä-gə-ˌpā 

1

: love feast

2

: love sense 4a

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Late Latin agapē, borrowed from Greek agápē "brotherly love," back-formation from agapân "to regard with affection, be fond of, be contented (with)" or agapázein "to welcome warmly," perhaps from a base *aga-pā- "lavish protection, attention or affection (on)," literally, "protect greatly," going back to Indo-European *m̥ǵh₂- "large, great" + *peh₂- "protect" — more at much entry 1, fur entry 1

First Known Use

1536, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for agape

• escape
• landscape
• lenape
• reshape
• seascape
• soundscape
• ape
• cape
• crape
• crepe
• drape
• gape

Kids Definition

agape

adjective

ə-ˈgāp

also ə-ˈgap

: having the mouth open in wonder or surprise

the crowd stood agape at the sight