endearment

[ en-deer-muh nt ]

/ ɛnˈdɪər mənt /

the act of endearing.

the state of being endeared.

something that endears; an action or utterance showing affection: to murmur endearments.

Origin of endearment

First recorded in 1605–15; endear + -ment

Bae,” for example, is a term of endearment that is either short for “baby” or an acronym for “before anyone else.

Feminist, Bae, Turnt: Time’s ‘Worst Words’ List Is Sexist and Racist |Samantha Allen |November 13, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
(She addresses me in various terms of endearment, as one would an old friend, and invites me to swim in her pool after lunch).

Gail Sheehy Books Passage to the Past |Lizzie Crocker |September 3, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
“The thing that pops into my head is the Shirley MacLaine quote from Terms of Endearment,” said Emmerich.

‘The Americans’: Noah Emmerich on Playing Stan Beeman, ‘Jane Got a Gun,’ and More |Jason Lynch |May 1, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
Terms of Endearment got made because Polly Platt was so persistent.

Larry McMurtry: How I Write |Noah Charney |April 24, 2013 |DAILY BEAST

My mom remembers us actually watching Terms of Endearment with my father when he was sick.

Speak, Faulty Memory: Why Memoir Writing Is Harder Than You Think |Dave Bry |April 3, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
Now, clean-ness, or neat-ness, is one of the elements that make hypocoristic terms (or terms of endearment) applicable.

Opuscula |Robert Gordon Latham
Without knowing why, she felt an instinctive repugnance to this stranger, notwithstanding her words of endearment.

Jack's Ward |Horatio Alger, Jr.
"Oh, it is just a term of endearment," said a woman's voice in answer.

The Charm of Ireland |Burton Egbert Stevenson
How often when she slept had he heard those lips breathe his name with terms of endearment!

The Weird Sisters, Volume II (of 3) |Richard Dowling
"No, my precious one," I replied; I sometimes use terms of endearment to the members of my domestic circle.

Punch, or the London Charivari, January 12th, 1895 |Various

endearment

/ (ɪnˈdɪəmənt) /

something that endears, such as an affectionate utterance

the act or process of endearing or the condition of being endeared