Storge

Storge (στοργή, storgē) is the Greek word for natural affection, which applies to family love—such as the love of a parent toward a child. In social psychology, storge is the form of love between friends.

Storge may be used as a general term to describe the love between exceptional friends, and the desire for them to care compassionately for one another.

Another interpretation is for storge to be used to describe a sexual relationship between two people that gradually grew out of a friendship —storgic lovers sometimes cannot pinpoint the moment that friendship turned to love. Storgic lovers are friends first, and the friendship can endure even beyond the breakup of the sexual relationship. They want their significant others to also be their best friends, and will choose their mates based on homogamy.

Storgic lovers place much importance on commitment, and find that their motivation to avoid committing infidelity is to preserve the trust between the two partners. Children and marriage are seen as legitimate forms of their bond, while sex is of lesser importance than in other love styles.

Advantages of storgic love may be the level of friendship, understanding, and intimacy that the partners share, while disadvantages may include a lack of passion and potential boredom in the relationship.