geniality

English

Etymology

From Latin geniālitās, and perhaps also partly formed within English as genial +‎ -ity.[1]

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -ælɪti

Noun

geniality (countable and uncountable, plural genialities)

  1. The quality of being genial; friendly cheerfulness; warmth of disposition and manners.
    • 1878, Thomas Hardy, Return of the Native Chapter 3:
      Sometimes this throat uttered Yes, sometimes it uttered No; sometimes it made inquiries about a time worn denizen of the place. Once it surprised her notions by remarking upon the friendliness and geniality written in the faces of the hills around.
    • 1934, George Orwell, Burmese Days:
      […] and yet there was such a wilful geniality about him, such a strenuous air of being off duty and forgetting his rank, that no one was ever quite at ease in his presence.

Derived terms

References

  1. ^ “geniality, n.”, in OED Online ⁠‎[1], Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000, archived from the original on 19 September 2023.

Anagrams

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