affinity
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
affinity/əˈfɪnəti/
▶noun (pl. affinities)
- 1 a spontaneous or natural liking or sympathy.
■ a close relationship based on a common origin or structure.
■ relationship by marriage.
- 2 chiefly Biochemistry the degree to which a substance tends to combine with another.
– origin ME: via OFr. from L. affinitas, from affinis ‘related’ (lit. ‘bordering on’).
'affinity' also found in these Oxford entries:
