Word of the Day Archive
Wednesday July 28, 1999
genial \JEEN-yuhl; JEE-nee-uhl\ , adjective:
1. [Obsolete] Pertaining to generation or marriage.
2. Friendly, warm; kindly; sympathetically cheerful and cheering.
3. Mild, pleasant; comfortable; favorable to life or growth.
The day before the operation, despite his paralysis, he had been his usual genial self, laughing and joking.
-- Ruth Brandon, Surreal Lives
Though the tattoo is rather forbidding, belying Giambi's genial nature, his teammates are all in favor of it.
-- "Body Art Inspires Giambi in Art of Hitting", San Francisco Chronicle, July 27, 1999
With its soothing pace and genial feel, Donegal . . . always has served as a convenient respite and outdoor playground for the Republic and much of Europe.
-- "Tourists look past 'troubles'", Chicago Sun-Times, February 22, 1998
She, like he, like all beings in this happy valley with its genial clime, goes always naked, stark staring, as someone's said, wearing nothing daylong but the shells and beads braided into her black hair.
-- Robert Coover, Ghost Town
Genial comes from Latin genialis, "relating to enjoyment; joyful," from genius, "guardian spirit; spirit of enjoyment."
Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for genial
