gentleman caller
Courting male visitor
A gentleman caller is a man who visits a woman socially, typically with romantic intent.
The term belongs to an earlier era when courtship followed formal rituals—a young man would "call on" a young woman at her home under parental supervision.
The phrase now sounds quaint or deliberately old-fashioned: Are you expecting a gentleman caller?
Tennessee Williams's play *The Glass Menagerie* cemented the term in American consciousness.
One who courts another
- admirerOne who esteems another
- beauMale romantic companion
- paramourLover in secret affair
- sweetheartAffectionate name for beloved
fiancé · swain · inamorato · escort · proposer · betrothed · lover · match
Of a prim era
- EdwardianOf early twentieth-century Britain
- old-fashionedBelonging to earlier times
- formalFollowing strict protocol
- parlorFormal room for visitors
carriage · corsage · chaperone · etiquette · matchmaker · aristocrat · top hat · waistcoat
Showing good manners
- chivalrousHonorably courteous and brave
- respectfulShowing proper regard
- gallantCourageously attentive and refined
- considerateMindful of others' needs
well-mannered · dignified · refined · debonair · urbane · gracious · cordial · tactful
wooer
One who courts another
sweetheart · fiancé · swain · inamorato · escort · proposer · betrothed · lover · match · courtship
Victorian
Of a prim era
- EdwardianOf early twentieth-century Britain
- old-fashionedBelonging to earlier times
- formalFollowing strict protocol
parlor · carriage · corsage · chaperone · etiquette · matchmaker · aristocrat · top hat · waistcoat · cravat
polite
Showing good manners
- chivalrousHonorably courteous and brave
- respectfulShowing proper regard
- gallantCourageously attentive and refined
considerate · well-mannered · dignified · refined · debonair · urbane · gracious · cordial · tactful · decorous
- Euphemismspass away, passed away, passed on, expecting, with child
- loverslover, lovers, beloved, sweethearts, sweetheart
gentleman callerbusiness associate
Professional collaborator
family friend · neighbor · colleague · casual friend · casual acquaintance
gentleman, caller, gentle, gently, gentleness, gentlemanly, gentlemen, call, calls