Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Valentine"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Valentine \Val"en*tine\, n.
1. A sweetheart chosen on St. Valentine's Day.
2. A letter containing professions of love, or a missive of a
sentimental, comic, or burlesque character, sent on St.
Valentine's Day.
{St. Valentine's Day}, a day sacred to St. Valentine; the
14th of February. It was a very old notion, alluded to by
Shakespeare, that on this day birds begin to mate. Hence,
perhaps, arose the custom of sending love tokens at that
time.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
valentine
n 1: a sweetheart chosen to receive a greeting on Saint
Valentine's Day; "will you be my valentine?"
2: a card sent or given (as to a sweetheart) on Saint
Valentine's Day [syn: {Valentine}]
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