Word of the Day: Affinity

af-fin-i-ty / əˈfinədē   noun  

1. a liking for or attraction to a person, thing, etc.

Creativity begins with an affinity for something. Howard Gardner, 1943-  

2. kinship; sympathy due to common interest

Those whom I deemed Changed to my kin, the friends of whom I dreamed, Have aged and lost our old affinity: One has to change to stay akin to me. from ‘Beyond Good and Evil’ by Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844-1900  

3. relationship by marriage or ties besides blood

For example, a husband is related by affinity to his wife’s brother, but not to the wife of his wife’s brother. https://definitions.uslegal.com/a/affinity  

4. likeness based on relationship or common trait

Beyond doubt, there was a certain splendor in pain, which bore a deep affinity to the splendor that lies hidden within strength. Yukio Mishima, 1925-1970  

5. in biology, a relation between biological groups indicating a common origin

Thus the evidence given by those five new thigh bones of the morphological and functional distinctness of Pithecanthropus erectus furnishes proof, at the same time, of its close affinity with the gibbon group of anthropoid apes. Eugene Dubois, 1858-1940  

6. in chemistry, the force by which atoms are held together in compounds

If Thought is capable of being classed with Electricity, or Will with chemical affinity, as a mode of motion, it seems necessary to fall at once under the second law of thermodynamics as one of the energies which most easily degrades itself, and, if not carefully guarded, returns bodily to the cheaper form called Heat. Henry Adams, 1838-1918     adjective

1. of or relating to persons with a common interest or goal

By identifying all the possible communities to which you belong, you may well find an affinity group – and a story – that helps you get your business off the ground, secures your dream job, or lets you achieve whatever goal you are pursuing. from ‘Start Something That Matters’ by Blake Mycoskie, 1976-