amiable

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 20, 2024 is: amiable \AY-mee-uh-bul\ adjective Someone or something described as amiable is friendly and agreeable. // Both children have amiable dispositions, which makes them easy to travel with. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amiable) Examples: "An amiable, Honda Civic–driving, bird-watching [Everyman](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/everyman) in shorts and glasses, Gary somehow turns out to be the perfect fake assassin." — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 24 May 2024 Did you know? Amiable has its roots in amīcus the Latin word for "friend," and can ultimately be traced back to the verb amare, meaning "to love." English has been friendly with amiable since the 14th century, at which time it meant "pleasing" or "admirable" (a sense that is now obsolete). The current, familiar senses of "generally agreeable" and "friendly and sociable" came centuries later. Amare has also given English speakers such words as [amative](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amative) and [amorous](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amorous) (both meaning "strongly moved by love"), [amour](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amour) ("a usually illicit love affair"), and even [amateur](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amateur) (which originally meant "admirer"). And that’s just the tip of the amare iceberg: its influence on [Romance languages](https://bit.ly/3VKkZZM) is nothing short of [integral](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/integral). The Spanish word for "friendship" is amistad, the French word for "friend" is ami, and the Italian word for "love"? That’s amore.