əˈfa(a)(ə)r, -e(ə)r, -a(a)ə, -eə noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English & Middle French; Middle English afere, affaire, from Middle French, from a faire to do, from a to (from Latin ad ) + faire to do, from Latin facere — more at at , do
1.
a. affairs plural : commercial, professional, or public business
the Federal Republic agrees to conduct its affairs in conformity with the principles stated in the charter — Current History
a well-known man of affairs
b. : matter , concern
religion is also an affair of the imaginative life — Roger Fry
they don't want to get mixed up in it because it isn't their affair — Brad Sebstad
2.
a. : any procedure, action, or occasion not clearly distinguished or only vaguely specified
an affair of honor
one of the most brilliant social affairs of the season
public life had become so discreditable an affair — F.M.Ford
the whole affair from start to finish did not occupy more than thirty seconds — S.H.Holbrook
if he knew anything about rain, this was going to be an all-day affair — Hamilton Basso
— sometimes used in plural
an attempt to end this sad state of affairs
b. also af·faire
[French affaire ]
: a romantic or passionate attachment typically of limited duration : an illicit sexual relationship : liaison , intrigue
a series of affairs before her marriage
c. or affaire
[French affaire ]
: a matter or episode occasioning public anxiety or dispute or giving rise to scandalous report and speculation : case — used often with proper names
the Doe affair
the affair Roeville
d. : any object or collection of objects not clearly distinguished or only vaguely specified
a black-and-white checked wool affair with a double collar — Lois Long
the orchestra has arrived, no thin five-piece affair , but a whole pitful of oboes and trombones and saxophones — Scott Fitzgerald