affable

English

WOTD – 4 January 2009

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

affable (comparative more affable, superlative most affable)

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.
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 […]

friendly, courteous, sociable

mild; benign

affable (plural affables)