Lover

Part of speech: noun (n.)

1. One who loves; one who is in love; -- usually limited, in the singular, to a person of the male sex. Gower. Love is blind, and lovers can not see The pretty follies that themselves commit. Shak.

2. A friend; one strongly attached to another; one who greatly desires the welfare of any person or thing; as, a lover of his country. I slew my best lover for the good of Rome. Shak.

3. One who has a strong liking for anything, as books, science, or music. "A lover of knowledge." T. Burnet.