Word of the Day

: May 20, 2014

amiable

adjective AY-mee-uh-bul

What It Means

1 : generally agreeable

2 : being friendly, sociable, and congenial

amiable in Context

"Aside from being amiable, Mickey Mouse has no discernible personality of any kind, yet he has captivated the world, appeared in hundreds of films, and sold billions of dollars' worth of merchandise." - R. L. Stine, quoted in The Atlantic, March 19, 2014

"In person, … he was amiable and just plain funny as he discussed everything from the growing appeal of TV for movie actors to playing a character that's 'sort of God and the Devil wrapped into one.'" - From an article by Jeanne Jakle in the San Antonio Express-News, April 13, 2014

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").