affinity (əˈfɪnɪtɪ) ![]() | |
| —n (foll by with | |
| 1. | a natural liking, taste, or inclination towards a person or thing |
| 2. | the person or thing so liked |
| 3. | a close similarity in appearance or quality; inherent likeness |
| 4. | Compare consanguinity relationship by marriage or by ties other than of blood, as by adoption |
| 5. | similarity in structure, form, etc, between different animals, plants, or languages |
| 6. | chem |
| a. the tendency for two substances to combine; chemical attraction | |
| b. A a measure of the tendency of a chemical reaction to take place expressed in terms of the free energy change | |
| 7. | biology a measure of the degree of interaction between two molecules, such as an antigen and antibody or a hormone and its receptor |
| [C14: via Old French from Latin affīnitāt- connected by marriage, from affīnis bordering on, related] | |
| af'finitive | |
| —adj | |
| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |