AFFECTION

affection, affectionateness, fondness, tenderness, heart, warmness, warmheartedness, philia

(noun) a positive feeling of liking; “he had trouble expressing the affection he felt”; “the child won everyone’s heart”; “the warmness of his welcome made us feel right at home”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

affection (countable and uncountable, plural affections)

The act of affecting or acting upon.

The state of being affected, especially: a change in, or alteration of, the emotional state of a person or other animal, caused by a subjective affect (a subjective feeling or emotion), which arises in response to a stimulus which may result from either thought or perception.

An attribute; a quality or property; a condition.

An emotion; a feeling or natural impulse acting upon and swaying the mind.

A feeling of love or strong attachment.

(medicine, archaic) Disease; morbid symptom; malady.

Usage notes

In the sense of "feeling of love or strong attachment", it is often in the plural; formerly followed by "to", but now more generally by "for" or "toward(s)", for example filial, social, or conjugal affections; to have an affection for or towards children

Synonyms

• (kind feeling): attachment, fondness, kindness, love, passion, tenderness

Verb

affection (third-person singular simple present affections, present participle affectioning, simple past and past participle affectioned)

(now, rare) To feel affection for. [from 16th c.]

Source: Wiktionary


Af*fec"tion, n. Etym: [F. affection, L. affectio, fr. afficere. See Affect.]

1. The act of affecting or acting upon; the state of being affected.

2. An attribute; a quality or property; a condition; a bodily state; as, figure, weight, etc. , are affections of bodies. "The affections of quantity." Boyle. And, truly, waking dreams were, more or less, An old and strange affection of the house. Tennyson.

3. Bent of mind; a feeling or natural impulse or natural impulse acting upon and swaying the mind; any emotion; as, the benevolent affections, esteem, gratitude, etc. ; the malevolent affections, hatred, envy, etc.; inclination; disposition; propensity; tendency. Affection is applicable to an unpleasant as well as a pleasant state of the mind, when impressed by any object or quality. Cogan.

4. A settled good will; kind feeling; love; zealous or tender attachment; -- often in the pl. Formerly followed by to, but now more generally by for or towards; as, filial, social, or conjugal affections; to have an affection for or towards children. All his affections are set on his own country. Macaulay.

5. Prejudice; bias. [Obs.] Bp. Aylmer.

6. (Med.)

Definition: Disease; morbid symptom; malady; as, a pulmonary affection. Dunglison.

7. The lively representation of any emotion. Wotton.

8. Affectation. [Obs.] "Spruce affection." Shak.

9. Passion; violent emotion. [Obs.] Most wretched man, That to affections does the bridle lend. Spenser.

Syn.

– Attachment; passion; tenderness; fondness; kindness; love; good will. See Attachment; Disease.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

13 May 2024

AMISS

(adverb) in an improper or mistaken or unfortunate manner; “if you think him guilty you judge amiss”; “he spoke amiss”; “no one took it amiss when she spoke frankly”


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

In the 18th century, the Swedish government made coffee and its paraphernalia (including cups and dishes) illegal for its supposed ties to rebellious sentiment.

coffee icon