affable

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 29, 2006 is: affable • \AF-uh-bul\  • adjective 1 : being pleasant and at ease in talking to others 2 : characterized by ease and friendliness Examples: Betty's father was so affable that when her friends came over they'd usually end up sitting and chatting with him. Did you know? "Affable" is one of several English words that evolved from the Latin verb "fari," which means "to speak." "Affable" comes from the Latin "affabilis," which comes from the "fari" relative "affari" ("to speak to"), plus "-abilis," meaning "able." Some other "fari" derivatives are "infant," "fable," and "fate." "Infant" comes from the Latin "infans," which means "incapable of speech" and combines "in-" and "fans," the present participle of "fari." "Fable" comes from the Latin "fabula," a "fari" offspring that means "conversation." "Fate" comes from the Latin word "fatum," meaning "what has been spoken" and deriving from "fatus," a past participle of "fari." *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.