Forelsket
Etymology
Norwegian and Danish adjective "forelsket," infatuated or newly in love (noun "forelskelse"), from "for-" plus "elske," to love. It was widely popularized in English lists of untranslatable words for the specific euphoria of early attraction.
adjective · /foh-REL-sket/
The giddy, euphoric state of just beginning to fall in love with someone.
What it names
It isolates the very first rush of romance — before commitment, before certainty — as its own nameable feeling.
Example
He was so newly forelsket that even her grocery list seemed charming.
Related idea
It shades into limerence, but limerence names an obsessive, often anxious craving for reciprocation, while forelsket is the lighter, sweeter thrill of the beginning.
See also