Link Centre Dictionary

afford

af·ford

UK/əˈfɔːd/ US/əˈfoɹd/ common

verb

1.

be able to spare or give up

  • “I can”
2.

be the cause or source of

  • “He gave me a lot of trouble”
  • “Our meeting afforded much interesting information”
Synonyms
3.

have the financial means to do something or buy something

  • “We can”
  • “;”
4.

afford access to

  • “the door opens to the patio”
  • “The French doors give onto a terrace”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English afforthen, aforthen, avorthien, from earlier iforthen, iforthien, ȝeforthien, from Old English forþian, ġeforþian (“to further, accomplish, afford”), from Proto-Germanic *furþōną, from Proto-Germanic *furþą (“forth, forward”), equivalent to a- + forth. Cognate with Old Norse forða (“to forward oneself, save oneself, escape danger”), Icelandic forða (“to save, rescue”).

Phrases

  • offer affordances

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Word family

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.