genial
adjective /ˈdʒiːniəl/
/ˈdʒiːniəl/
- friendly and cheerful synonym affable
- a genial person
- He was a sweet old gentleman with white hair and a genial smile.
Extra ExamplesTopics Personal qualitiesc2- He seemed genial enough.
- Her manner was quite genial.
- The fierce old man suddenly looked almost genial.
- Graham was a genial and modest host.
Oxford Collocations DictionaryGenial is used with these nouns:- host
Word Originmid 16th cent.: from Latin genialis ‘nuptial, productive’, from genius ‘attendant spirit present from one's birth, innate ability or inclination’, from the root of gignere ‘beget’. The Latin sense was adopted into English; hence the senses ‘mild and conducive to growth’ (mid 17th cent.), later ‘cheerful, kindly’ (mid 18th cent.).