Cordial

How to spell cordial

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce cordial

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does cordial mean?

1. adjectiveWarm, friendly, and sincere in manner.
2. nounA sweet concentrated fruit syrup diluted with water, or a sweet flavoured liqueur.

Cordial in a sentence

• adjective

  The two managers maintained a cordial working relationship despite their disagreements.

• noun

  She diluted the blackcurrant cordial with cold water for the children.

• adjective

  She gave the new neighbours a cordial welcome and offered to show them around.

• noun

  He poured a small glass of cherry cordial after dinner.

Where does cordial come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word goes back to the Latin cor, cordis, meaning 'heart', which gave rise to the Medieval Latin cordialis, 'of or belonging to the heart'. English took it up in the late 1300s, at first in a medical sense: a cordial was a tonic or restorative thought to stimulate and strengthen the heart. From that bodily meaning it broadened in two directions. As an adjective it came to describe feelings that come 'from the heart', so warm, sincere, and friendly; as a noun it survived as the name for a sweet, comforting drink, originally medicinal and later simply a flavoured syrup or liqueur. The same Latin heart-root sits inside familiar relatives such as 'courage', 'concord', and 'record', and remembering that hidden 'heart' helps fix the cord- spelling rather than a tempting 'cor-' or 'chord-'.

How the word is built

• cord- (from Latin cor, cordis: heart)
• -ial (adjective/noun suffix)