I. aˈfīn, əˈ- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French affin, from affin, adjective
: a relative by marriage (as one's wife's brother)
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: French affiner, from a- (from Latin ad- ) + fin fine, refined — more at fine
: to subject (raw sugar) to affination
III. adjective
Etymology: French affin, akin, connected, from Latin affinis related by marriage — more at affinity
mathematics : preserving finiteness [as in the transformation y = ax + b ( a not zero), where to every finite value of the variable x there corresponds a finite value of the variable y, and vice versa]
• af·fine·ly adverb