conciliatory

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 22, 2008 is: conciliatory • \kun-SILL-yuh-tor-ee\ • adjective : tending to win over from a state of hostility or distrust : intended to gain the goodwill or favor of someone Examples: As the irate customer yelled, the manager adopted a soothing, conciliatory tone and promised that the situation would be remedied. Did you know? If you are "conciliatory" towards someone, you're trying to win them over to your side. The verb "conciliate" was borrowed into English in the mid-16th century and descends from the Latin verb "conciliare," meaning "to assemble, unite, or win over." "Conciliare," in turn, comes from Latin "concilium," meaning "assembly" or "council." "Conciliatory," which appeared in English a bit later in the 16th century, traces back to "conciliare" by way of the Latin adjective "conciliatorius." Another word that has "conciliare" as a root is "reconcile," the earliest meaning of which is "to restore to friendship or harmony." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.