amiable: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for August 26 is:

amiable \AY-mee-uh-bul\ adjective
1 : generally agreeable
*2 : being friendly, sociable, and congenial

Example sentence:
We certainly don't mind if you bring your friend to the party; he's an amiable guy who's sure to find some new friends during the event.

Did you know?
"Amiable" derives from the Late Latin adjective "amicabilis," meaning "friendly," which in turn comes from the Latin word for "friend" and can ultimately be traced back to "amare," meaning "to love." When "amiable" was adopted into English in the 14th century, it meant "pleasing" or "admirable," but that sense is now obsolete. The current, familiar senses of "generally agreeable" ("an amiable movie") and "friendly and sociable" came centuries later. "Amare" has also given English speakers such words as "amative" and "amorous" (both meaning "strongly moved by love"), "amour" ("a usually illicit love affair"), and even "amateur" (which originally meant "admirer").

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

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