affably

the word 'affably' originates from the latin adjective affābilis, meaning 'that can be spoken to' or 'approachable'. this derives from the verb affārī ('to speak to'), itself composed of ad- ('to') and fārī ('to speak'), a verb with deep roots in proto-indo-european. the suffix -ābilis was used to form adjectives indicating capacity or tendency. entering english via old french, the adjective 'affable' was formed, and the native english adverbial suffix -ly was later appended. thus, the literal sense of 'in a manner capable of being spoken to' evolved into the modern meaning of behaving in a friendly and approachable way.

Structure: aff + able + ly - aff (from latin affābilis, from affārī meaning 'to speak to') - able (from latin -ābilis, an adjectival suffix meaning 'capable of, tending to') - ly (from old english -līce, an adverbial suffix meaning 'in a manner of')