The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is…

cordial (adjective, noun):

adjective
1a: showing or marked by warm and often hearty friendliness, favor, or approval
b: sincerely or deeply felt
2: tending to revive, cheer, or invigorate
3 obsolete : of or relating to the heart

noun
1: liqueur
2: a stimulating medicine or drink

Source : Merriam – Webster

Etymology : The Latin root cord- (or cor) is at the heart of the connection between cordial, concord (meaning “harmony”), and discord (meaning “conflict”). Cord- means “heart,” and each of these cord- descendants has something to do with the heart, at least figuratively. Concord, which comes from com- (meaning “together” or “with”) plus -cord, suggests that one heart is with another. Discord combines the prefix dis- (meaning “apart”) with -cord to imply that hearts are apart. Hundreds of years ago, cordial could mean simply “of or relating to the (literal) heart” (the -ial is simply an adjective suffix) but today anything described as cordial—be it a friendly welcome, a compliment, or an agreement—comes from the heart in a figurative sense. Cordial is also used as a noun to refer to a usually sweet liqueur, the name being inspired by the idea that a cordial invigorates the heart.

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