n.1 (often foll. by for, towards) goodwill; fond or kindly feeling.
2 a disease; a diseased condition.
3 a mental state; an emotion.
4 a mental disposition.
5 the act or process of affecting or being affected.
Derivatives:
affectional adj. (in sense 3). affectionally adv.
Etymology: ME f. OF f. L affectio -onis (as AFFECT(1))