cordial

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈkɔrdʒəl/ UK /ˈkɔːdiəl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
warm and friendly; a sweet fruit-flavored drink

They exchanged cordial greetings before the meeting began.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · warm and friendly; a sweet... warm friendly genial affable hearty amiable gracious

Opposites

cold hostile aloof frosty unfriendly

Word family

Forms cordially

Derived forms cordiallycordiality

Related forms core courage accord concord

Simplified etymology

Cordial comes from Latin cor, cordis, “heart,” and originally meant “of or relating to the heart.” It was soon applied to drinks thought to comfort or stimulate the heart, while its description of warm, sincere behavior developed from the idea of acting from the heart.

Etymology

From Medieval Latin 'cordialis' ('of the heart'), from Latin 'cor' ('heart'). The 'heartfelt' sense gave the friendly meaning; the drink was originally a heart-stimulating tonic.

cordialis Medieval Latin cor Latin *ḱerd- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# cordial

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈkɔrdʒəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkɔːdiəl/

## Meanings
1. warm and friendly; a sweet fruit-flavored drink

## Examples
- They exchanged cordial greetings before the meeting began.

## Synonyms
- warm
- friendly
- genial
- affable
- hearty
- amiable
- gracious

## Antonyms
- cold
- hostile
- aloof
- frosty
- unfriendly

## Derived Forms
- cordially
- cordiality

## Related Forms
- core
- courage
- accord
- concord

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: cordialis
- Root: cor
- Root: *ḱerd-

## Etymology
From Medieval Latin 'cordialis' ('of the heart'), from Latin 'cor' ('heart'). The 'heartfelt' sense gave the friendly meaning; the drink was originally a heart-stimulating tonic.

## AI Etymology
Cordial is from Medieval Latin 'cordialis' ('of the heart'), from Latin 'cor' ('heart'). The 'heartfelt' sense gave the friendly meaning; the drink was originally a heart-stimulating tonic. Important recorded forms include cordialis (Medieval Latin), cor (Latin), and *ḱerd- (Proto-Indo-European). The current sense covers warm and friendly; a sweet fruit-flavored drink. The wider family includes derived forms such as cordially and cordiality and related words such as core, courage, accord, and concord.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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