Lexic.us

Definition of Affinity

1. Noun. (immunology) the attraction between an antigen and an antibody.

2. Noun. (anthropology) kinship by marriage or adoption; not a blood relationship.

3. Noun. (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"

4. Noun. A close connection marked by community of interests or similarity in nature or character. "Anthropology's kinship with the humanities"

5. Noun. The force attracting atoms to each other and binding them together in a molecule. "Basic dyes have an affinity for wool and silk"

6. Noun. Inherent resemblance between persons or things.

7. Noun. A natural attraction or feeling of kinship. "James's affinity with Sam"

Definition of Affinity

1. n. 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.

Definition of Affinity

1. a natural attraction or inclination [n -TIES]

Medical Definition of Affinity

1. 1. An inherent likeness or relationship. 2. A special attraction for a specific element, organ or structure. 3. The force that binds atoms in molecules, the tendency of substances to combine by chemical reaction. 4. The strength of noncovalent chemical binding between two substances as measured by the dissociation constant of the complex. 5. A thermodynamic expression of the strength of interaction between a single antigen binding site and a single antigenic determinant (and thus of the stereochemical compatibility between them), most accurately applied to interactions among simple, uniform antigenic determinants such as haptens. Expressed as the association constant (K litres mole 1), which, owing to the heterogeneity of affinities in a population of antibody molecules of a given specificity, actually represents an average value (mean intrinsic association constant). 6. The reciprocal of the dissociation constant. Origin: L. Affinitas = relationship (06 Oct 1997)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Affinity

affiliate affiliated affiliates affiliating affiliation affiliations affinal affine affined affinely

affines affine geometry affine transformation affinities affinity (current term) affinity (current term) affinity adsorbent affinity antibody affinity chromatography affinity column

affinity labeling affinity labels affinity tag affinous affirm affirmable affirmance affirmances affirmant affirmants

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