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