affabilis

Forms

affābilis (neuter affābile, adverb affābiliter); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin affor (“to speak to, address”) + -bilis,^[2][3] so that it first described someone who can be spoken to.^[4][5] The verb is made of ad- and for (“to speak”),^[5] which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *fā- (“to speak”) and Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to speak”).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Terence has it in the Adelphoe, where a character says meditor esse adfabilis, “I am practising being affable”.^[3] It described a person who is easy to talk to.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Cicero and Nepos use it of courteous, approachable men, and Virgil turns it negative, saying of the Cyclops that he is pleasant to address for no one.^[3][4] From Seneca on it was also said of feelings or words that show friendliness.^[2]

The older spelling adfabilis is the one L&S prefers.^[4] In medieval Latin it remained a word of praise for kindly rulers and churchmen,^[7][8] and an Old English gloss renders it wordwynsum.^[8] English took affable from Old French in the late 15th century.^[5]

Timeline

• 190–159 BC – Terence has a character resolve to be adfabilis.^[3][9]
• 44 BC – Cicero, in De officiis, describes a man who wanted to be affable to everyone in all his talk.^[3][4]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it with a negative in the Aeneid.^[3][4]
• 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca applies it to friendly words and feelings.^[2][9]
• 639–709 AD – Aldhelm uses it in a letter.^[8][9]
• late 15th century – English borrows affable through Old French.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of people: easy to talk to or approach, affable, courteous.^[2][4]
2. Of feelings or words: showing sympathy, friendly.^[2]
3. (Medieval Latin) Pleasant, agreeable.^[7][10]

Word family

• affābilitās

Related words

• English affable

Usage notes

The adverb is affābiliter, “courteously”, found in Macrobius;^[4] Gellius has the superlative adfabilissime.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
7. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
8. ^ a b c Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
10. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre