Word of the day – Cordial

Cordial shares the Latin root cor with concord (meaning “harmony”) and discord (meaning “conflict”). Cor means “heart,” and each of these cor descendants has something to do with the heart, at least figuratively. Concord, which comes from con- (meaning “together” or “with”) plus cor, suggests that one heart is with another. Discord combines the prefix dis- (meaning “apart”) with cor, and it implies that hearts are apart. When cordial was first used in the 14th century, it literally meant “of or relating to the heart,” but this sense has not been in use since the 17th century. Today anything that is cordial, be it a friendly welcome, a compliment, or an agreement, comes from the heart in a figurative sense.