A Dictionary of the English Language
                        A Digital Edition of the 1755 Classic by Samuel Johnson
        Search Transcribed Entries:

Affable

View Scan · View Transcription · from page 91

View Scan · View Transcription · from page 91

A'ffable. adj. [affable, Fr. affabilis, Lat.]

  1. Easy of manners; accostable; courteous; complaisant. It is used of superiours.

    He was affable, and both well and fair spoken, and would use strange sweetness and blandishment of words, where he desired to affect or persuade any thing that he took to heart. Bacon.

            Her father is Baptista Minola,
    An affable and courteous gentleman.     Shakesp. Tam. Shrew.

    Gentle to me, and affable hath been
    Thy condescension, and shall be honour'd ever
    With grateful memory.     Milton's Paradise Lost, b. viii.

  2. It is applied to the external appearance; benign; mild; favourable.

    Augustus appeared, looking round him with a serene and affable countenance upon all the writers of his age. Tatler.

Sources: Bacon, Francis (396) · Milton, John (449) · Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew (71) · Tatler (23)

Attributes: Adjective (426) · French (385) · Latin (690)

Search for this word in: American Heritage · Cambridge · Dictionary.com · The Free Dictionary · Longman · Merriam-Webster · OneLook · Oxford Dictionaries · Vocabulary.com · Wiktionary · Wordnik

Cite this page: Johnson, Samuel. "Affable." A Dictionary of the English Language: A Digital Edition of the 1755 Classic by Samuel Johnson. Edited by Brandi Besalke. Last modified: January 28, 2014. https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/affable/.

Disclaimer:
johnsonsdictionaryonline.com is completely free to use. Johnson's dictionary is in the public domain, but please respect the hours of work put into this site by linking to it or crediting it. This site assumes no liability for its content or for the content of external sites linked to it, and has no warranty or guarantee concerning accuracy or availability.