affair
English
/əˈfɛɹ/, /əˈfɛə(ɹ)/, /əˈfɛə/
noun
Definitions
- (often in the plural) Something which is done or is to be done; business of any kind, commercial, professional, or public.
- Any proceeding or action which it is wished to refer to or characterize vaguely.
- (military) An action or engagement not of sufficient magnitude to be called a battle.
- A material object (vaguely designated).
- An adulterous relationship. (from affaire de cœur).
- A romantic relationship with someone who is not one's regular partner (boyfriend, girlfriend).
- A person with whom someone has an adulterous relationship.
- A party or social gathering, especially of a formal nature.
- (slang) The (male or female) genitals.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English afere derived from Old French afaire derived from Latin ad- (to, towards, at, near, toward, upon, prefix meaning to, up to, against).
Origin
Latin
ad-
Gloss
to, towards, at, near, toward, upon, prefix meaning to, up to, against
Concept
Semantic Field
Spatial relations
Ontological Category
Other
Kanji
向
Emoji
Timeline
Distribution of cognates by language
Geogrpahic distribution of cognates
Cognates and derived terms
- ad- English
- cyberaffair English
- nonaffair English
- *accolligere Latin
- *adastō Latin
- *adgasaliare Latin
- *admonestāre Latin
- *admortire Latin
- *admortīre Latin
- *adpācāre Latin
- *affumāre Latin
- *appācāre Latin
- *arrestare Latin
- *arrestāre Latin
- *arrestāre, *arresto Latin
- *arrestō Latin
- *assecūrō, *assecuro, *assecūrāre Latin
- *assuaviō Latin
- *assēcūrō, *assēcūrāre, *assecuro Latin
- *invaginare Latin
- accidēns Latin
- accolāre, accolare Latin
- ad- Latin
- advertō Latin
- faciō Latin
- meliōrō Latin
- vannus Latin
- Affäre German
- affaire Italian
- affare Italian
- affaire, affaires Dutch, Flemish
- adsorber French
- affaire French
- affairisme French
- droit French
- faire French
- афера Russian
- a- Spanish, Castilian
- acaecer Spanish, Castilian
- affair Spanish, Castilian
- affaire Spanish, Castilian
- *h₂éd Proto-Indo-European
- *kʷel- Proto-Indo-European
- *steh₂- Proto-Indo-European
- *ád Proto-Indo-European
- affære Norwegian Bokmål
- *at Proto-Germanic
- *tila- Proto-Germanic
- affär Swedish
- adrenalina Polish
- affære Norwegian Nynorsk
- afere Middle English
- a- Old French
- abaubir Old French
- acouchier Old French
- afaire Old French
- asseurer Old French
- esmer Old French
- afero Esperanto
- afera Serbo-Croatian
- abanar Galician
- afuar Galician
- afungar Galician
- amorți Romanian, Moldavian, Moldovan
- affare Middle Dutch
- affaire Norman
- affaire Middle French
- *𐌲𐌰𐍃𐌰𐌻𐌾𐌰 Gothic
- *ad Proto-Italic
- zafer Mauritian Creole
- amillorar Aragonese
- zafer Seychellois Creole
- acolada Franco-Provençal
- afoaire Picard