cordiality

English

Etymology

cordial +‎ -ity

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ælɪti

Noun

cordiality (countable and uncountable, plural cordialities)

1. The quality of being cordial.
   • 1839, Edgar Allan Poe, “The Fall of the House of Usher”^[1]

     Upon my entrance, Usher rose from a sofa on which he had been lying at full length, and greeted me with a vivacious warmth which had much in it, I at first thought, of an overdone cordiality—of the constrained effort of the ennuyé man of the world.

   • 1930, Evelyn Waugh, Vile Bodies, New York: Back Bay Books, 1999, Chapter V,

     Adam gave her—the spaniel, not Mrs. Florin—a gentle prod with his foot and a lump of sugar. She licked his shoe with evident cordiality. Adam was not above feeling flattered by friendliness in dogs.

2. A friendly utterance.
   • 1931, E. F. Benson, Mapp and Lucia, Chapter 5,^[2]

     Lucia rivalled these cordialities with equal fervour and about as much sincerity.

   to exchange cordialities with people

Synonyms

• affability, amiability, friendliness, warmth

Anagrams

• radiolytic