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I'm not quite sure why English descriptions for affection degenerated so much over the centuries. There are Greek and Latin terms for more refined measures of affection and more than a few lasted into Old/Middle English.
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Heh, Spanish has several words for that (and Spanish has considerably less words than English) to represent several levels of affection.
Originally, the verb "querer" (to want) was used when wanting to express personal affection towards your lover. However, with the advent of the Englishification of the language, it's been dropped in favor of a not-so-typical "amar" (to love). It still means the same, but nowadays it's more classy to say "te amo" than "te quiero". I blame the "I <3 NY" T-shirts.
We also have a different word for "girlfriend" (akin to "bride" in English).