affection

af·fec·tion

A mother showing affection for her baby.

noun

The definition of affection is love, or a fond attachment for something or something.

A mother hugging her child, a cat cuddling with his owner and a husband bringing flowers for his wife are each an example of affection.

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"affection." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 24 June 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Affection>.

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affection. (n.d.). Retrieved June 24th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Affection

affection

a mental or emotional state or tendency; disposition or feeling
[often pl.] fond or tender feeling; warm liking
an affecting or being affected
Archaic a disease; ailment
Archaic an attribute or property of a thing

Origin of affection

Middle English affecciun from Old French affection from Classical Latin affectio, a state of feeling from past participle of afficere: see affect

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"affection." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 24 June 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Affection>.

APA Style

affection. (n.d.). Retrieved June 24th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Affection

affection

noun

A tender feeling toward another; fondness.
often affections Feeling or emotion: an unbalanced state of affections.
A disposition to feel, do, or say; a propensity.
Obsolete Prejudice; partiality.

Origin of affection

Middle English affeccioun from Old French affection from Latin affectiō affectiōn- from affectus past participle of afficere to affect, influence ; see affect ¹.

Related Forms:

af·fec′tion·al
adjective

af·fec′tion·al·ly
adverb

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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MLA Style

"affection." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 24 June 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Affection>.

APA Style

affection. (n.d.). Retrieved June 24th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Affection

Noun

(plural affections)

The act of affecting or acting upon.
The state of being affected.
An attribute; a quality or property; a condition; a bodily state; as, figure, weight, etc., are affections of bodies.
Bent of mind; a feeling or natural impulse or natural impulse acting upon and swaying the mind; any emotion; as, the benevolent affections, esteem, gratitude, etc.; the malevolent affections, hatred, envy, etc.; inclination; disposition; propensity; tendency.
A feeling of love or strong attachment.
(medicine, archaic) Disease; morbid symptom; malady.

Usage notes

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

Related terms

Verb

(third-person singular simple present affections, present participle affectioned, simple past and past participle affectioning)

to feel an affection, emotion or love for.

Origin

From French affection, from Latin affectionem, from affectio; see affect.

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

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Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"affection." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 24 June 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Affection>.

APA Style

affection. (n.d.). Retrieved June 24th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Affection

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