What Does “Dear” Mean in a Relationship?

Calling someone my dear – When we first discovered that our voices could work to distract, attract and express ourselves, we created simple sounds that could show our feelings. Evolutionary biologists say that this happened during the early stone ages, and we didn’t talk much.

As we grew together as mankind, we started getting thoughts about the world, and as we started thinking, we created language. We really do not understand this but language is one of the most powerful inventions mankind ever created.

Communication and languages are often barriers if we can’t express ourselves in a way that the other person could understand. 

In this day and age, everything has changed. We no longer have the problems that we used to before. We don’t need to know many languages, and we don’t worry about knowing something. It is so easy for us to understand the basic differences between our tongues because of Google translate, or the internet.

As far as communication goes between people that know each other, it’s a completely different thing. My mother used to call me “appa” and she called me that lovingly as her child. I guess it means an elephant in Thai, or could even mean something else in another language.

We are not bound by the words we use, but how we use to express the same. “Dear”, “babu”, “baby” are some of the words that people use in relationships, and let us look at some of them in this article. 

Questions Regarding Calling Someone My Dear

What Are Endearment Words?

Imagine you went inside a room and there is a crib. Inside, lies a small boy with big blue eyes. He has a face that looks more beautiful than the moon, and his eyes shine like the sea. His hairs are messed up, and you feel that comforting smell of baby powder on his skin.

Just as he looked up, he saw you staring at him in awe. I know kids are a nuisance when they cry and the shrill voice by which they shout is simply deafening. But, this guy looks up to you in wonder. He looks up and starts to lift his hands, and smile. No matter how cruel, pathetic, immoral a human being sees that, he would smile.

And as you smile, you mention words like “aguuguuguuu”, “baabu”, “sweetie” and so on. These words are not present in any dictionary whatsoever. You won’t even find people saying these words in the market, nor would you find someone teaching kids words like these. 

So, what are those words? These words that we often say, that are either gibberish or mean something sweet are called endearment words. These words are present for people that want to say something sweet to express their concern, and yet it is very hard for them to find words from the dictionary.

Most of the time, these are phonic words that are just what we commonly love to say. Even though they don’t mean anything, the tone behind the words expresses everything. 

What Does It Mean When She/he Says “Dear”?

Congratulations to you if you genuinely find the above question relatable, and I am hopeful for you if you didn’t find it relatable. “Dear” is a type of endearment word that we discussed above. If your boyfriend refers to you as “dear”, it means that he loves you a lot and he is referring to you as a very close person.

It is absolutely okay for the girlfriend to use it as well. Infact, it is a gender neutral term and can be used by anyone, to express love to another person.

The reason why your boyfriend or girlfriend said these words is because of the fact that they love you, and this is the loving way people call someone. When we talk about the term “darling”, it is even dearer to the word “dear”. The word darling was used by men of the Southern US, to express their love for their ladies, and it was used so extensively in Hollywood, that everyone from around the world understood the same.

Infact, if we look at  the term “darling”, or as women used to use it as “darlin'”, they were also used sarcastically on other people. Like you could call someone darling and tell them politely to shut up. This is where even women used to say this word to younger women and old people.

Like you could call a girl in grade 7th or 8th as “Darlin’, that’s not a good choice for you” or an old person like “You put the laundry in the tub, darlin’. That’s how grandpa does it”. 

Can People of the Same Sex Say “Dear” to Each Other?

It’s exactly dependent on the type, and the way it is said to one another. A good friend of mine, sends me e-mails at times that start with “Dear Friend..”, he is a heterosexual, straight person and has two kids as well. But, if you are a man and another man advances close to you, and says “dear” in a very seductive tone, you should clearly state your sexuality and preferences with him.

Yes it is not unusual for men to call each other as “dear” in friendship or while writing a casual letter of some sort, but to say it in front of each other with eyes that are rolling back and fidgeting fingers, then it means romantically. If we talk about the Southern parts of America and its neighboring continents like Asia and Europe, there are men that call each other dear when referring to someone that is younger to them.

It was also a custom to call any women that you interact with as “darling”. This was said out of courtesy, and if you are a man, you would be called a gentleman for saying such endearment words. 

What Are the Other Forms of “Dear”?

The most important form that you have to understand is that you call someone “dear” to express love. Keeping that in mind, you can literally call your friend as “Dear Alex,  can you leave it on the porch?” in a sentence, and it would be perfectly fine to say that.

There is seriously no problem with calling someone “dear” as long as you mean it casually. You can even call your female friends as “dear” in a sentence, and they won’t mind it, if you tone it in a proper way. “Dear” is also used in situations where you have to express what you are feeling, and this can be used as “Dear me!” or “Oh Dear!”.