Though I have retired from full time employment I still aid congregations when their pastor is away. This summer I helped our Lutheran church in Churchbridge leading a few services as their pastor was not allowed to work for some months due to immigration issues. (He came to Canada from Brazil.) Even though driving the approximatey 300 kilometres from Moose Jaw takes time, I have enjoyed being with the people there. Every time I arrive at the church in Churchbridge I receive a very cordial welcome.
Cordial is derived from the Latin word for heart, cor. When cordial appeared in the English language in the early 1400s it referred to things relating to the heart. The heart was necessary for the maintenance of life, in fact of the utmost importance. Geoffrey Chaucer (died in 1400) in describing the Doctor of Phisik in the prologue of The Canterbury Tales wrote, “For gold in phisik is a cordial; Therefore he loved gold in special.” Here cordial means as important as the heart is to physical life.
Over time cordial became associated with hearty and sincere approval. A friendly welcome, a compliment, or an agreement that comes from the heart (in a figurative sense) is cordial.
Cordial has also been used to indicate being politely pleasant. Despite the trade issues the two nations maintained cordial relations.
Synonyms for cordial conversation in social situations are gracious, affable, genial, and sociable.
Gracious implies courtesy and kind consideration. The gracious award recipient acknowledged the work her teammates did on the project.
Affable infers easy approachability and readiness to respond pleasantly to conversation, requests or proposals. The CEO was affable to all the office and support staff.
Genial stresses cheerfulness and even joviality. Everyone in the group wanted Bill to join them whenever they went out for drinks after work as he was the most genial colleague of them all.
Sociable suggests a genuine liking for the companionship of others. The owners of the house at the end of the street were sociable people who enjoyed entertaining everyone.
Cordial accentuates warmth and heartiness. Our host was very cordial as he greeted us at the door.
Other words that are similar to cordial are amicable, chummy, friendly, neighbourly, and warmhearted.
Amicable implies a state of peace and a desire on the part of the parties not to quarrel, characterized by feelings of approval and support. Despite their differences they arrived at an amicable agreement.
Chummy implies quite friendly. In the recent interview between Elon Musk and Donald Trump there were chummy, joking and complimenting one another rather than dealing with any hard issues.
Friendly suggests warmth or intimacy of personal relations. The people living next door seem friendly, especially compared to the previous owners.
Neighbourly implies a disposition to live on good terms with others and to be helpful on principle. She has a neighbourly concern for others in the workplace.
Warmhearted is marked by ready affection, generosity, and sympathy. The owner of the shop was a very caring and warmhearted person.
Cordial can also be used as a noun to refer to a sweet liqueur. The name was inspired by the idea that a cordial invigorates the heart.
Last year in Japan we visited a restaurant that specialized in preparing eel (unagi). When we left after a delicious feast the cook and waiter walked us to the door and extended a cordial goodbye. They were very appreciative of our choosing their restaurant from among the many in the area. There is no tipping in Japan, so the emotion was sincere, not based on our generosity but on their appreciation for spending our time and money with them. We were impressed.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
