cordial

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 12, 2023 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>cordial</strong> &#149; \KOR-jul\&nbsp; &#149; <em>adjective</em><br /> <p><em>Cordial</em> means “politely pleasant and friendly.” It also means “showing or marked by warm and often hearty friendliness, favor, or approval” and “sincerely or deeply felt.”</p> <p>// Despite past conflicts, the two nations now maintain <em>cordial</em> relations.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cordial">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>“On the way out, there were profuse thank-yous and <em>cordial</em> comments about future get-togethers, which never occurred.” — Peter Bart, <em>Deadline</em>, 16 Mar. 2023</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>The Latin root <em>cord-</em> (or <em>cor</em>) is at the heart of the connection between <em>cordial</em>, <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/concord"><em>concord</em></a> (meaning “harmony”), and <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discord"><em>discord</em></a> (meaning “conflict”). <em>Cord-</em> means “heart,” and each of these <em>cord-</em> descendants has something to do with the heart, at least figuratively. <em>Concord</em>, which comes from <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/com-#h2"><em>com-</em></a> (meaning “together” or “with”) plus <em>-cord</em>, suggests that one heart is with another. <em>Discord</em> combines the prefix <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dis-#h5"><em>dis-</em></a> (meaning “apart”) with <em>-cord</em> to imply that hearts are apart. Hundreds of years ago, <em>cordial</em> could mean simply “of or relating to the (literal) heart” (the <em>-ial</em> is simply an adjective suffix) but today anything described as <em>cordial</em>—be it a friendly welcome, a compliment, or an agreement—comes from