affectionate

English

Etymology 1

Partly from Latin affectionatus, partly from affection + -ate. Doublet of aficionado.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˈfɛkʃənət/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: af‧fec‧tion‧ate

Adjective

affectionate (comparative more affectionate, superlative most affectionate)

1. (of a person) Having affection or warm regard; loving; fond.

   She eulogised her always warm and affectionate brother.

2. (of an action, etc.) Characterised by or proceeding from affection; indicating love; tender.

   the affectionate care of a parent; an affectionate countenance; an affectionate message; affectionate language

   • 1900, Charles W[addell] Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC:

     Warwick left the undertaker's shop and retraced his steps until he had passed the lawyer's office, toward which he threw an affectionate glance.

3. (obsolete) Eager; passionate; strongly inclined toward something.

Synonyms

• tender; lovesome; attached; loving; devoted; warm; fond; earnest; ardent.
• See also Thesaurus:affectionate

Derived terms

• affectionate friendship
• affectionately
• affectionateness
• disaffectionate
• inaffectionate
• nonaffectionate
• pseudoaffectionate
• unaffectionate

 

Related terms

• affect
• affectation
• affecter
• affective
• affection

Translations

loving

• Bengali: স্নেহপ্রবণ (bn) (snehoprobon)
• Bulgarian: любящ (ljubjašt), нежен (bg) (nežen)
• Catalan: afectuós (ca)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 友愛／友爱 (jau⁵ oi³)

  Hokkien: 友愛 (友爱)／友爱 (iú-ài)

  Mandarin: 友愛 (友爱)／友爱 (zh) (yǒu'ài)

• Danish: kærlig
• Esperanto: ama (eo), amema, amplena
• Finnish: hellä (fi), rakastava (fi)
• French: affectueux (fr)
• Galician: afectuoso
• German: liebevoll (de)
• Hungarian: szerető (hu)
• Icelandic: ástúðlegur (is)
• Irish: ceanúil, cionmhar, grámhar, caithiseach, muirneach
• Italian: affettuoso (it)
• Japanese: 人懐っこい (hitonatsukkoi)
• Latin: affectuosus
• Latvian: mīlīgs
• Macedonian: не́жен (néžen), чувстви́телен (čuvstvítelen)
• Maori: matatau, mateoha
• Polish: czuły (pl), kochający
• Portuguese: afetuoso (pt)
• Romanian: afectuos (ro)
• Russian: лю́бящий (ru) (ljúbjaščij), не́жный (ru) (néžnyj)
• Spanish: afectuoso (es)
• Swedish: kärleksfull (sv)
• Turkish: sevecen (tr), canayakın

indicating love

• Catalan: afectuós (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: hellä (fi), rakastava (fi)
• Hungarian: szeretetteljes (hu)
• Icelandic: ástúðlegur (is)
• Latvian: mīlīgs
• Macedonian: не́жен (néžen)
• Polish: czuły (pl), kochający
• Portuguese: afetuoso (pt), carinhoso (pt)
• Romanian: afectuos (ro)
• Russian: лю́бящий (ru) (ljúbjaščij), не́жный (ru) (néžnyj)
• Spanish: cariñoso (es), afectuoso (es)
• Swedish: kärleksfull (sv)

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

Translations to be checked

• Scottish Gaelic: ^{(please verify)} blàth-chridheach, ^{(please verify)} bràithreil, ^{(please verify)} caidreach, ^{(please verify)} carantach, ^{(please verify)} gaolach, ^{(please verify)} gràdhach, ^{(please verify)} macail, ^{(please verify)} nàdarra, ^{(please verify)} seirceil, ^{(please verify)} teò-chridheach, ^{(please verify)} tlùthail, ^{(please verify)} truacanta

Etymology 2

Either from the adjective, or from affection + -ate (modelled on Middle French affectionner).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˈfɛkʃəneɪt/

Verb

affectionate (third-person singular simple present affectionates, present participle affectionating, simple past and past participle affectionated)

1. (rare) To show affection to; to have affection for.
2. (obsolete, reflexive) To emotionally attach (oneself) to.
   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, translated by John Florio, The Essayes […], London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:
     , Folio Society, 2006, p.21:

     Plutarch saith fitly of those who affectionate themselves to Monkies and little Dogges, that […].

   • 1721, John Rushworth, Historical Collections Of Private Passages of State, etc.: 1618—1629, volume 1, page 222:

     And firſt, his Majeſty would have you to underſtand, That there was never any King more loving to his People, or better affectionated to the right uſe of Parliaments, than his Majeſty hath approved himſelf to be, […].

   • 1838 February 1, Charles Dickens, To Catherine Dickens, 2012, Jenny Hartley (editor), The Selected Letters of Charles Dickens, page 41,

     Ever my dear Kate your affectionated husband

     CHARLES DICKENS

Latin

Adjective

affectiōnāte

1. vocative masculine singular of affectiōnātus

Scots

Adjective

affectionate (comparative mair affectionate, superlative maist affectionate)

1. affectionate

References

• Eagle, Andy, ed. (2016) The Online Scots Dictionary, Scots Online.