the act of pairing a male and female for reproductive purposes; "the casual couplings of adolescents"; "the mating of some species occurs only in the spring"
a mechanical device that serves to connect the ends of adjacent objects
a training program in which a person is given information about physiological processes (heart rate or blood pressure) that is not normally available with the goal of gaining conscious control of them
type genus of the family Veneridae: genus of edible clams with thick oval shells
the second nearest planet to the sun; visible from Earth as an early `morning star' or an `evening star'; "before it was known that they were the same object the evening star was called Venus and the morning star was called Lucifer"
a person who is present and participates in a meeting; "he was a regular attender at department meetings"; "the gathering satisfied both organizers and attendees"
someone who waits on or tends to or attends to the needs of another
a natural attraction or feeling of kinship; "an affinity for politics"; "the mysterious affinity between them"; "James's affinity with Sam"
inherent resemblance between persons or things
the force attracting atoms to each other and binding them together in a molecule; "basic dyes have an affinity for wool and silk"
(immunology) the attraction between an antigen and an antibody
a close connection marked by community of interests or similarity in nature or character; "found a natural affinity with the immigrants"; "felt a deep kinship with the other students"; "anthropology's kinship with the humanities"
(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"
(anthropology) kinship by marriage or adoption; not a blood relationship