affection

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English

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EnglishWikipediahas an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology

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FromMiddle Englishaffection,affeccion,affeccioun,fromOld Frenchaffection,fromLatinaffectiōnem,fromaffectiō;equivalent toaffect+‎-ion.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key):/əˈfɛk.ʃən/,/əˈfɛk.t͡ʃən/
  • Audio(US):(file)
  • Hyphenation:af‧fec‧tion
  • Rhymes:-ɛkʃən

Noun

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affection(countableanduncountable,pluralaffections)

  1. The act ofaffectingor acting upon.
  2. The state of beingaffected,especially: achangein, oralterationof, theemotionalstateof apersonor otheranimal,caused by asubjectiveaffect(a subjective feeling or emotion), which arises inresponseto astimuluswhich may result from eitherthoughtorperception.
  3. Anattribute;aqualityorproperty;a condition.
    • 1756,Robert Simson,Euclid's Elements:
      A Porism is a proposition in which it is proposed to demonstrate that some one thing, or more things than one, are given, to which, as also to each of innumerable other things, not given indeed, but which have the same relation to those which are given, it is to be shewn that there belongs some commonaffectiondescribed in the proposition.
  4. Anemotion;a feeling or natural impulse acting upon and swaying the mind.
    • 2013August 23,Mark Cocker,“Wings of Desire”,inThe Guardian Weekly,volume189,number11,page26:
      Ouraffectionsfor wild animals are distributed very unevenly. Take insects.
    • 1905,Emanuel Swedenborg,chapter 27, in John C. Ager, transl.,Heaven and Hell:
      It is known that each individual has a variety ofaffections,oneaffectionwhen in joy, another when in grief, another when in sympathy and compassion, another when in sincerity and truth, another when in love and charity, another when in zeal or in anger, another when in simulation and deceit, another when in quest of honor and glory, and so on.
  5. A feeling ofloveor strongattachment.
    I have a lot ofaffectionfor my little sister.
    The marriage therapist suggested they show each other moreaffection.
    • 1813January 27, [Jane Austen], chapter 61, inPride and Prejudice:[…],volumes(please specify |volume=I to III),London:[…][George Sidney]forT[homas]Egerton,[…],→OCLC:
      Mr. Bennet missed his second daughter exceedingly; hisaffectionfor her drew him oftener from home than anything else could do. He delighted in going to Pemberley, especially when he was least expected.
    • 1908,George Bernard Shaw,Getting Married: Spurious "Natural"Affection:
      What is more, they are protected from even such discomfort as the dislike of his prisoners may cause to a gaoler by the hypnotism of the convention that the natural relation between husband and wife and parent and child is one of intenseaffection,and that to feel any other sentiment towards a member of one's family is to be a monster.
    • 2016March 8, Jocelyn Samara D.,Rain(webcomic),Comic 806 - Terrible Excuse:
      "Did you ever like me back, Ryan? All those years, I didn't know how to show myaffectionfor you, so I wasn't sure if you weren't getting it or you just didn't care. But I need to know which it was. "
    • 2021August 13,Gayle,Sara Davis, David Pittenger, “abcdefu”,inA Study of the Human Experience Volume One‎[1],performed by Gayle:
      Dated a girl that I hate, for the attention / She only made it two days, what a connection / It's like you'd do anything, for myaffection/ You're going all about it in the worst ways
  6. (medicine,archaic)Adisease;amorbidsymptom;amalady.
    • 1834,Samuel George Morton,Illustrations of Pulmonary Consumption:
      a pulmonaryaffection
    • 1907,The Medical Brief,volume35,page840:
      A heavy clay soil is bad for all neuralgics, and the house should be dry, and on a sandy or gravel soil. The desideratum for all neuralgicaffectionsis perpetual summer[…]

Usage notes

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  • In the sense of "feeling of love or strong attachment", it is often in the plural; formerly followed by "to", but now more generally by "for" or "toward(s)", for example filial, social, or conjugal affections; to have an affection for or towards children
  • Not to be confused withaffectation(“An attempt to assume or exhibit what is not natural or real; false display; artificial show”).

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions atWiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Verb

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affection(third-person singular simple presentaffections,present participleaffectioning,simple past and past participleaffectioned)

  1. (nowrare)Tofeelaffectionfor.[from 16th c.]
    • 1764,Horace Walpole,The Castle of Otranto,section V:
      Why, truth is truth, I do not think my lady Isabella ever muchaffectionedmy young lord, your son: yet he was a sweet youth as one should see.

Translations

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Further reading

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French

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Etymology

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BorrowedfromLatinaffectiōnem.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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affectionf(pluralaffections)

  1. affection,love,fondness
  2. medicalcondition,complaint,disease

Further reading

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Scots

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Noun

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affection(pluralaffections)

  1. affection

References

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