Forms: 4–5 afinite, 4–6 affinite, affynyte, affynite, 5–6 affynytye, affinyte, affynitie, affinytye, affynytie, 6–7 affinitie, 6– affinity. [a. Fr. afinité, affinité, ad. L. affīnitāt-em, n. of state f. affīn-is: see AFFINE sb.]
I. Affinity by position.
1. Relationship by marriage; opposed to consanguinity. Hence collect. Relations by marriage.
1303. R. Brunne, Handl. Synne, 7379. Or ȝyf he wyþ a womman synne Þat sum of hys kyn haþ endyde ynne … He calleþ hyt an affynyte.
c. 1315. Shoreham, 70. Alle here sybbe affinitè.
1483. Caxton, G. de la Tour, C viij b. Be he of his parente his affynyte or other.
1509. Fisher, Wks., 1876, 293. What by lygnage what by affinite she had xxx. kinges & quenes within the iiii. degre of maryage vnto her.
1649. Selden, Laws Eng., I. lv. (1739), 98. Many … that by affinity and consanguinity were become English-men.
1726. Ayliffe, Parergon, 326. Affinity is a Civil Bond of Persons, that are ally’d unto each other by Marriage or Espousals.
1849. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., I. 172. He was closely related by affinity to the royal house. His daughter had become, by a secret marriage, Duchess of York.
b. In R. C. Ch.: The spiritual relationship between sponsors and their godchild, or between the sponsors themselves, called in older English gossip-red (cf. kin-red).
c. 1440. Relig. Pieces fr. Thornton MS. (1867), 13. His sybb frendes or any oþer þat es of his affynyte gastely or bodyly.
1751. Chambers, Cycl., s.v., The Romanists talk of a spiritual Affinity, contracted by the sacrament of baptism and confirmation.
1872. Freeman, Hist. Ess. (ed. 2), 23. When he has succeeded in placing the bar of spiritual affinity between the King and his wife.
2. Relationship or kinship generally between individuals or races. collect. Relations, kindred.
1382. Wyclif, Ruth iii. 13. If he wole take thee bi riȝt of affynyte the thing is wel doo.
1440. J. Shirley, Dethe K. James (1818), 7. With many other of thare afinite.
1494. Fabyan, IV. lxx. 49. He therfore with helpe of his affynyte and frendes, withstode the Romaynes.
1677. Gale, Crt. Gentiles, I. I. ix. 47. The great Identitie, or at least, Affinitie that was betwixt the old Britains, and Gauls.
1794. G. Adams, Nat. & Exp. Philos., III. xxxii. 316. The labour of individuals … weaves into one web the affinity and brotherhood of mankind.
1872. Yeats, Growth & Viciss. Comm., 37. The affinities of the people which connected them … with the Semitic races of Arabia.
3. Philol. Structural resemblance between languages arising from and proving their origin from a common stock.
1599. Thynne, Animadv. (1865), 66. The latyne, frenche, and spanyshe haue no doble W, as the Dutch, the Englishe, and suche as have affynytye with the Dutche.
1659. Pearson, Creed (1839), 245. We know the affinity of the Punic tongue with the Hebrew.
1796. Morse, Amer. Geog., I. 80. Between some of these languages, there is indeed a great affinity.
1859. Jephson, Brittany, xx. 313. To trace the affinities of words in different languages.
4. Nat. Hist. Structural resemblance between different animals, plants or minerals, suggesting modifications of one primary type, or in the case of the two former) gradual differentiation from a common stock.
1794. Sullivan, View of Nat., I. 458. Thus we shall find that antimony has an affinity with tin.
1830. Lyell, Princ. Geol. (1875), II. III. xxxiv. 250. The species are arranged … with due regard to their natural affinities.
1862. Darwin, Orchids, iii. 115. In the shape of the labellum we see the affinity of Goodyera to Epipactis.
1872. Nicholson, Palæont., 353. The true Reptiles and the Birds … are nevertheless related to one another by various points of affinity.
5. fig. Causal relationship or connection (as flowing the one from the other, or having a common source), or such agreement or similarity of nature or character as might result from such relationship if it existed; family likeness.
1533. Elyot, Castel of Helth (1541), 35. By reason of the affinitie whiche it hath with mylke, whay is convertible in to bloude and fleshe.
1540. Morysine, trans. Vives’ Introd. Wysdome, C iiij. Vyces and their affynities, as foolyshnes, ignorancy, amased dulnesse.
1642. R. Carpenter, Experience, III. v. 46. What is the reason that Grace hath such marvellous affinity with Glory?
1795. Mason, Ch. Mus., i. 76. The sound of every individual instrument bears a perfect affinity with the rest.
1855. H. Reed, Lect. Eng. Lit., ii. (1878), 74. Philosophy and poetry are for ever disclosing affinities with each other.
1861. Tulloch, Eng. Purit., iv. 421. This spiritual affinity between Luther and Bunyan is very striking.
† 6. Neighborhood, vicinity. [OFr. afinité.] Obs.
1678. R. Russell, trans. Geber, IV. ii. 242. The third Property is Affinity (or Vicinity) between the Elixir and the Body to be transmuted.
1770. Hasted, in Phil. Trans., LXI. 161. Some kinds of wood … decay by the near affinity of others.
II. Affinity by inclination or attraction.
† 7. Voluntary social relationship; companionship, alliance, association. Obs.
1494. Fabyan, V. ciii. 78. Gonobalde … promysed ayde to his power. Lotharius, of this affynyte beyng warned, pursued the sayde Conobalde.
1580. North, Plutarch (1676), 4. That so many good men would have had affinity with so naughty and wicked a man.
1611. Bible, 2 Chron. xviii. 1. Now Jehosaphat … ioyned affinitie with Ahab.
8. Hence fig. A natural friendliness, liking or attractiveness; an attraction drawing to anything.
1616. Surflet & Markh., Countrey Farme, 322. For this dung, by a certaine affinitie, is gratefull and well liked of Bees.
1652. French, Yorksh. Spa, viii. 71. With this hath the spirit of the Spaw water great affinity.
1832. Ht. Martineau, Each & All, iv. 61. Natural affinities are ever acting, even now, in opposition to circumstance.
1860. Maury, Phys. Geog. Sea, ii. § 70. So sharp is the line, and such the want of affinity between those waters.
9. esp. Chemical attraction; the tendency that certain elementary substances or their compounds have to unite with other elements and form new compounds.
1753. Chambers, Cycl. Supp., s.v., M. Geoffroy has given [in 1718] a table of the different degrees of affinity between most of the bodies employed in chemistry.
1782. Kirwan, in Phil. Trans., LXXIII. 35. Chymical affinity or attraction is that power by which the invisible particles of different bodies intermix and unite with each other so intimately as to be inseparable by mere mechanical means.
1831. T. P. Jones, Convers. Chem., i. 22. Elective affinity, or elective attraction, you will find spoken of in every work upon chemistry.
c. 1860. Faraday, Forces of Nat., iii. 93. This new attraction we call chemical affinity, or the force of chemical action between different bodies.
10. A psychical or spiritual attraction believed by some sects to exist between persons; sometimes applied concretely to the subjects or objects of the ‘affinity.’
1868. Dixon, Spir. Wives, I. 99. All these Spiritualists accept the doctrine of special affinities between man and woman; affinities which imply a spiritual relation of the sexes higher and holier than that of marriage. Ibid., II. 204. Such natures as, on coming near, lay hold of each other, and modify each other, we call affinities.
