Definition of affinity:

• relationship by alliance ( 2 Chronicles 18:1 ) or by marriage ( 1 Kings 3:1 ). Marriages are prohibited within certain degrees of affinity, enumerated Leviticus 18:6-17 . Consanguinity is relationship by blood.
• Relationship by marriage as between a husband and his wife's blood relations, or between a wife and her husband's blood relations; -- in contradistinction to consanguinity, or relationship by blood; -- followed by with, to, or between.
• At common law. Relationship by marriage between the husband and the blood relations of the wife, and be- tween the wife and the blood relations of the D husband. 1 Bl. Comm. 434; Solinger v. Earle, 45 N. Y. Super. Ct. 80; Tegarden v. Phillips ( Ind. App.) 39 N. E. 212. Affinity is distinguished into three kinds: ( 1) Direct, or that subsisting between the husband ^ and his wife's relations by blood, or between the wife and the husband's relations by blood; ( 2) secondary, or that which subsists between the husband and his wife's relations by marriage; ( 3) collateral, or that which subsists between the husband and the relations of his wife's relations. Wharton. JJ In the civil law. The connection which arises by marriage between each person of the married pair and the kindred of the other. Mackeld. Rom. Law,
• [ MARRIAGE] [ E] indicates this entry was also found in Easton's Bible Dictionary
• kinship by marriage or adoption; not a blood relationship
• a natural attraction or feeling of kinship; " an affinity for politics"; " the mysterious affinity between them"; " James's affinity with Sam"
• the force attracting atoms to each other and binding them together in a molecule; " basic dyes have an affinity for wool and silk"
• ( immunology) the attraction between an antigen and an antibody
• a close connection marked by community of interests or similarity in nature or character; " found a natural affinity with the immigrants"; " felt a deep kinship with the other students"; " anthropology's kinship with the humanities"
• ( biology) state of relationship between organisms or groups of organisms resulting in resemblance in structure or structural parts; " in anatomical structure prehistoric man shows close affinity with modern humans"
• Kinship generally; close agreement; relation; conformity; resemblance; connection; as, the affinity of sounds, of colors, or of languages.
• Companionship; acquaintance.
• That attraction which takes place, at an insensible distance, between the heterogeneous particles of bodies, and unites them to form chemical compounds; chemism; chemical or elective affinity or attraction.
• A superior spiritual relationship or attraction held to exist sometimes between persons, esp. persons of the opposite sex; also, the man or woman who exerts such psychical or spiritual attraction.
• Relationship by marriage ( as between a husband and his wife's blood relations, or between a wife and her husband's blood relations); - in contradistinction to consanguinity, or relationship by blood; - followed by with, to, or between.
• A relation between species or highe groups dependent on resemblance in the whole plan of structure, and indicating community of origin.
• Attraction; in chemistry the force which impels certain atoms to unite with certain others to form compounds.
• Relationship; tendency toward attraction.
• Nearness of kin, agreement, or resemblance: relationship by marriage, opposed to consanguinity or relationship by blood: ( chem.) the peculiar attraction between the atoms of two simple substances that makes them combine to form a compound.
• Relation by marriage; chemical attraction.
• Natural inclination; chemical attraction.
• Relationship by marriage, in contradistinction to consanguinity or relationship by blood; agreement; connection; the tendency which the particles of dissimilar bodies have to combine and form new compounds; resemblance in structure.
• Relation; agreement; relationship by marriage; in chem., the combining power of bodies.
• Relationship; similarity in all essential organs.

Usage examples for affinity

1. The moment I saw you I knew that you were my affinity.  The Rebel of the School by Mrs. L. T. Meade

2. He shows his affinity with the modern spirit in his firm grasp of natural law.  Christian Mysticism by William Ralph Inge

3. I assure you I drove through the City the other day in an omnibus, and discovered an affinity on the opposite seat!  More About Peggy by Mrs G. de Horne Vaizey

4. They may remain undeveloped during the early years of life or during successive generations; their development into units or cells, like those from which they were derived, depending on their affinity for, and union with, other units or cells previously developed in the due order of growth.  The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex, Vol. I (1st edition) by Charles Darwin