affinité

Affinité is a French term that designates a natural liking, similarity, or propensity between two things or people, as well as a capacity or tendency that makes them compatible. Etymologically, it comes from Latin affinitas, meaning relation or proximity, especially within kinship or marriage.

In everyday language, affinité refers to an inclination or sympathy between individuals, often based on shared interests, values, or dispositions. It can also describe a general sense of likeness or resonance between ideas, cultures, or objects.

In scientific usage, the word takes a more technical sense. In chemistry and biology, affinité denotes the tendency of substances to react or bind with each other, such as binding affinity between a ligand and a receptor. In immunology, it describes the strength of the interaction between an antigen and an antibody. The concept is also used broadly in pharmacology, where binding affinity influences the effectiveness of drugs.

Historically and literarily, affinité élective refers to the idea that certain relationships or pairings form by natural disposition rather than conscious choice. The term is associated with Goethe’s Die Wahlverwandtschaften, commonly translated as Affinités électives, a novel exploring fated compatibility and moral consequences of arranged unions.

In contemporary discourse, affinité is used to describe cultural, social, or algorithmic connections—shared tastes, similarities between groups, or the basis for recommendations in data-driven systems.