Summary: Glad, mad, sad and scared: These are the four basic emotions of every human being. On the light end of the glad scale, you'll find today's WOW word: affable.
Laid back. Easygoing. Relaxed. Each of these words describes me and my husband this week: We're spending some time in paradise.
Although our journey has a work element to it, we're finding it hard to be stressed—or even in a hurry!—while we're lounging on the island. Events that normally might work us up emotionally back home just aren't getting their usual rise out of us right now. Our attitudes are solely affable.
"What's affable?" you ask. Lucky for you it just so happens to be Monday, when I blog about the Word of the Week.
Affable (AFF - uh - BUHL) - an adjective that derives from the Latin word affari, meaning "to speak to," and connotes a friendly, pleasant, easygoing disposition. The phrase "affable gentleman" is common for this reason.
Brought to English in the 15th century, affability is something commonly witnessed at parties and other social events where people are seen to be enjoying themselves. You may behave affably even when you feel surly on the inside—however, genuine affability is easy to observe, and feigned (or faked) affability is generally not considered to be very affable behavior, after all. ... Think about it! I'm sure you'll agree.
And, well, if you don't agree with me, I'm not one for arguing this week. If you could see through the computer screen, you'd find me nodding my head and giving you an affable smile.
© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2010
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Kealah,
ReplyDeleteHello, I think your word of the week segment is "great!"
I am particularly fond of the history you provide.It reminds me of one of the activities I performed weekly as a high school English teacher before I retired early a few years ago.
You have devised a real fun way to beef up the vocabulary,and I love it.
Keep it coming!
Barbara
Thank you, Barbara! And congratulations on your forthcoming new book!
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