Did you know?
The Long History of Amity
Amity comes from the Latin word for "friend," amicus, and is used especially for relationships between political leaders and nations in which goodwill is shown despite differences that might exist between the two parties. Amicus is also the root of the adjectives amiable and amicable.
Synonyms
Examples of amity in a Sentence
Kenneth M. Pollack, Foreign Affairs, 19 Apr. 2022
The space station was meant to be a marvel of peaceful post-Cold War amity between Moscow and Washington, drawing Russia into the community of international collaboration and preventing Russian rocket engineers from selling expertise to countries like North Korea seeking to build better missiles.
—New York Times, 30 Mar. 2022
In the end, amity won out between the two painters.
—Christopher Parker, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Apr. 2023
It was returned to Scotland in 1996 by command of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in an act of amity and now comes again to this place by command of King Charles III as an act of unity and a symbol of friendship.
—Cara Lynn Shultz, Peoplemag, 1 May 2023
Nations like like Indonesia, India, or Brazil, predicated on utopian diversity myths actually have to work very hard to maintain inter-ethnic amity, even in the face of extensive hybridization.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 30 Oct. 2012
The Lousy Linguist is skeptical of my contention that very high linguistic diversity is not conducive to economic growth or social amity.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 20 July 2010
That friendly greeting at the North Portico – including the awkward handoff of a blue Tiffany’s box the Trumps had brought as a gift – couldn’t foretell the acrimony that would lie ahead, as Trump shattered the relative amity that had once existed between former and current presidents.
—Kevin Liptak, CNN, 5 Apr. 2022
Finally, amity is another word for friendship.
—Kevin Kruse, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2022
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'amity.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Middle English amyte, amiste, borrowed from Anglo-French amité, amisté (earlier and continental Old French amistet, amistiet), going back to Vulgar Latin *amīcitāt-, *amīcitās, alteration (by substitution of the suffix -itāt-, -tās -ity), of Latin amīcitia, from amīcus "friendly, well-disposed" + -itia, suffix forming nouns from adjectives, extended form of -ia -ia entry 1 — more at amiable
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Podcast
Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP
Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!
Dictionary Entries Near amity
Cite this Entry
“Amity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amity. Accessed 21 Sep. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
amity
noun
More from Merriam-Webster on amity
Britannica English: Translation of amity for Arabic Speakers
Share