Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 12, 2023 is: cordial \KOR-jul\ adjective

Cordial means “politely pleasant and friendly.” It also means “showing or marked by warm and often hearty friendliness, favor, or approval” and “sincerely or deeply felt.”

// Despite past conflicts, the two nations now maintain cordial relations.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cordial)

Examples:

“On the way out, there were profuse thank-yous and cordial comments about future get-togethers, which never occurred.” — Peter Bart, Deadline, 16 Mar. 2023

Did you know?

The Latin root cord- (or cor) is at the heart of the connection between cordial, [concord](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/concord) (meaning “harmony”), and [discord](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discord) (meaning “conflict”). Cord- means “heart,” and each of these cord- descendants has something to do with the heart, at least figuratively. Concord, which comes from [com-](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/com-#h2) (meaning “together” or “with”) plus -cord, suggests that one heart is with another. Discord combines the prefix [dis-](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dis-#h5) (meaning “apart”) with -cord to imply that hearts are apart. Hundreds of years ago, cordial could mean simply “of or relating to the (literal) heart” (the -ial is simply an adjective suffix) but today anything described as cordial—be it a friendly welcome, a compliment, or an agreement—comes from the heart in a figurative sense. Cordial is also used [as a noun](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cordial#dictionary-entry-2) to refer to a usually sweet liqueur, the name being inspired by the idea that a cordial invigorates the heart.