endearment

Etymology

endear + -ment

noun

1. The act or process of endearing, of causing (something or someone) to be loved or to be the object of affection.
   Every step of that walk led Jeff deeper into an excursion of endearment. It was amazingly true that he trod beside her an acknowledged friend, a secret lover. 1913, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 20, in The Vision Splendid
2. The state or characteristic of being endeared.
   He could not forget the fond and earnest look that had passed between her and some other man—the attitude of familiar confidence, if not of positive endearment. 1855, Elizabeth Gaskell, chapter 38, in North and South
3. An expression of affection.
   When they were alone he called him "my boy," an endearment he never gave another. 1902, Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton, chapter 18, in The Conqueror