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.

References

  1. geniality, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000, archived from the original on 2023-09-19.

Anagrams

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