Wiktionary

affable

English

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WOTD – 4 January 2009

Etymology

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French affable, Latin affābilis, from affor (“I address”), from ad + for (“speak, talk”). See fable.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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affable (comparative more affable, superlative most affable)

  1. Receiving others kindly and conversing with them in a free and friendly manner; friendly, courteous, sociable.
    Synonyms: accessible, civil, complaisant, courteous, friendly, gracious, personable
    • 1912, James Burrill Angell, “chapter ix Mission To The Ottoman Empire”, in The Reminiscences Of James Burrill Angell:
      Furthermore, I may say, that the Sultan was always most affable to me in my interviews with him, even when I had to discuss some missionary questions. In fact, I never saw any traces of the difficulties which Mr. Terrell reported.
    • 1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “Chief White Halfoat”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 45:
      […] He stood bolt upright instead with his stumpy arms resting comfortably on the backsof the pilot's and co-pilot's seats, pipe in hand, making affable small talk to McWatt and whoever happened to be co-pilot and pointing out amusing trivia in the sky to the two men, who were too busy to be interested.
  2. Mild; benign.
    Synonyms: benign, mild, warm
    • 1998, Alexia Maria Kosmider, Tricky Tribal Discourse, page 84:
      During more affable weather, the four friends congregate outside, sometimes leaning their hickory chairs against a "catapa" tree […]

Antonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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French

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin affābilis.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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affable (plural affables)

  1. affable, amicable, sociable
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Further reading

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