Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

   2. A word of endearment for one regarded as pure and gentle.

            O my dove, . . . let me hear thy voice. --Cant. ii.
                                                  14.

   {Dove tick} (Zo["o]l.), a mite ({Argas reflexus}) which
      infests doves and other birds.

   {Soiled dove}, a prostitute. [Slang]