APA Dictionary of Psychology

a form of erotic paranoia in which a person has delusions that someone else, who is typically older and of higher social status, is in love with them. The person continues to hold this belief despite having little contact with the other person and no reciprocation of feelings. The condition is more common in females than in males. Also called de Clérambault’s syndrome. [first described in 1922 by Gaëtan Gatian de Clérambault (1872–1934), French physician]