amiability (amiabiliti)

[ blene . Suet on i us mentions, as an instance of the amiability of Titus, that he was accustomed to jest with the people during the combats of the gladiators. Lecky, Europ. Morals, I. 304. 2. Lovablene ; am ability. N. E. D. amiable (a'mi-a-bl), a. [ E. amicable ), friendly, Lay an amiable siege to the honesty of this Ford's wife. Shak., M. W. of W., ii. 2. That foreign eccentricity to which their nation is so Howells , A Foregone Conclusion, p. 72. amiable . 2. Exciting or tending to excite love or delight; lovable; lovely; beautiful; delightful; pleasing. How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord. Ps. lxxxiv. 1. No company can be more amiable than that of men of sense who are soldiers. Steele, Spectator, No. 152. I found my wife and daughter well, the latter grown quite a woman, with many amiable accomplishments acquired in my absence. Franklin , Autobiog., p. 314. 3. Specifically, po e ing or exhibiting agreeable moral qualities, as sweetne of temper, kind-hearted ne , and the like; having an excellent disposition: as, an amiable girl; an ami able disposition. This [word] and "lovely" have been so far differentiated that amiable never expre es now any other than moral loveline ; which in "lovely" is seldom or never implied. Abp . Trench. He is so amiable that you will love him, if ever you become acquainted with him. Jefferson, in Bancroft's Hist. Const., II. 353. His [Fox's] private friends maintained that. if he was misled, he was misled by amiable feelings, by a desire to serve his friends and by anxious tenderne for his children. Macaulay, Lord Holland. = Syn. Engaging, benignant, sweet-tempered, kind-hearted, lovely in character.