From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishendearmenten‧dear‧ment /ɪnˈdɪəmənt $ ɪnˈdɪr-/ noun [countable, uncountable] LOVEactions or words that express your love for someone nicknames and other terms of endearment
Examples from the Corpus
endearment• An imaginary character whose name is used as an endearment.• But secondly, what do endearment terms mean?• Messages of endearment are a good place to begin.• It is a term of endearment and the source of all the current pussycat titles with their sexy connotations.• From time to time Rafiq would gently prise his hand free and stroke the boy's hair, murmuring some soft endearment.terms of endearment• It's better not to use such terms of endearment as "sweetie" on the first date. 