What is the difference between fondle and pet?
fondle | pet |
To touch or stroke lovingly.
To grasp.
An animal kept as a companion.
One who is excessively loyal to a superior.
Any person or animal especially cherished and indulged; a darling.
* Tatler
To stroke or fondle (an animal).
(informal) To stroke or fondle (another person) amorously.
(informal) Of two or more people, to stroke and fondle one another amorously.
(dated) To treat as a pet; to fondle; to indulge.
(archaic) To be a pet.
Favourite; cherished.
* F. Harrison
A fit of petulance, a sulk, arising from the impression that one has been offended or slighted.
* 1891 , Mary Noailles Murfree, In the "Stranger People's" Country , Nebraska 2005, p. 105:
As verbs the difference between fondle and pet
is that fondle is to touch or stroke lovingly while pet is to stroke or fondle (an animal).As a noun pet is
an animal kept as a companion.As an adjective pet is
favourite; cherished.As an acronym PET is
polyethylene terephthalate.fondle
English
Verb
- Mothers fondle their babies.
- The lovers fondled each other.
Derived terms
* fondler * fondlinglyReferences
*See also
* dandle * petAnagrams
*pet
English
Etymology 1
Attested since the 1500s in the sense "indulged child" and since the 1530s in the sense "animal companion"..'>citation The verb is derived from the noun.Noun
(wikipedia pet) {{ picdic , image=Pudel miniatura 342.jpg , detail1= }} (en noun)- the love of cronies, pets , and favourites
Synonyms
* companion animalReferences
Verb
(pett)- His daughter was petted and spoiled.
- (Feltham)
Derived terms
* pet cemetery * pet name * pet peeve * pet project * pet shop * pet store * petting * teacher's petAdjective
(-)- a pet child
- a pet theory
- Some young lady's pet curate.
Etymology 2
.Noun
(en noun)- There was something ludicrous, even more, unbecoming a gentleman, in leaving a friend's house in a pet , with the host's reproaches sounding in his ears, to be matched only by the bitterness of the guest's sneering retorts.
