affable

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English affabil, also affabyl,^[2][3] borrowed from Anglo-Norman affable and Middle French affable,^[4][3] and directly borrowed from Latin affābilis (“easy to talk to or approach”).^[4][3] The Latin adjective is from affor (“to speak to, address”), from ad- (“to”) and for (“to speak”),^[4][2][5][6] from Proto-Indo-European *bha- (“to speak, tell, say”),^[5] with the suffix -bilis.^[4][3] In Old French it is recorded from about 1275 or earlier,^[4] and in Anglo-Norman from the mid-13th century.^[7] The Latin verb is also the source of fable, fame and fate.^[6] The Latin adjective was glossed by Old English wordwynsum.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of a person, easy to approach and talk to, courteous: before 1460, in Osbern Bokenham's Lives of Saints, in the OED's revised entry.^[4] Barnhart has about 1475,^[8] and Etymonline the late 15th century,^[5] while Hoad and Collins give the 16th century.^[9][10]

Semantic evolution

Literally the word describes someone who can be spoken to,^[5][6][11] and French had already moved on to "friendly" by about 1275 and "benign, kind" by 1325.^[4] English took it mainly for a person's bearing, and it was often said of someone of rank dealing with those below: the OED and Chambers mention this,^[4][12] and Johnson (1755) noted that it was used of superiors.^[13] Cotgrave's French–English dictionary glossed the French word as "easily spoken to by, willingly giving eare to, others".^[14] From 1582 it could also describe a quality or an action rather than a person.^[4] Current dictionaries define it simply as friendly and easy to talk to, without the difference of rank.^[3][10][15]

Timeline

• before 1460 – of a person, easy to approach and converse with, courteous.^[4]
• 1582 – of a quality or action, friendly, pleasant.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Pleasant and easy to talk to; approachable: Our affable host chatted with every guest.^[3][2][10]
2. Showing friendliness or courtesy: an affable nod.^[2][3][4]

Word family

• affability
• affably

Related words

• fable
• fabulous
• fame
• fatal
• fate
• fay
• ineffable
• infamous
• infamy
• infant
• infantile
• infantry
• nefarious
• preface

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
3. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
7. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
8. ^ Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
9. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
11. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
12. ^ The Chambers Dictionary (2014), 13th ed., Edinburgh: Chambers
13. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
14. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
15. ^ Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (2009), 5th ed., Harlow: Pearson Longman