The term has a great variety of meanings depending on the perspective or discipline from which it is evaluated. In general terms, affinities are similarities, kinships, resemblances, or approximations between two or more things. In that sense, there may be affinities between two languages (linguistic affinities), as there may also be between two people.
One of the uses of the term even refers to the kinship that a person has with the family of his or her spouse, when joining in marriage. An example of this would be the relationship between the father-in-law and his daughter-in-law, known as political kinship.
The most common use given to affinities, refers to when two or more people realize that they coincide in tastes, opinions or characters, which produces in them feelings of sympathy, attraction or compatibility, which can trigger what is known as friendship and love, between individuals.
These would be the social affinities, which can be: sports, political, religious, professional or philosophical.
From a psychological perspective, the affinities go beyond the similarities or meeting points between individuals, since it is stated that one can have an affinity for certain things or inanimate objects. An example of this may be the affinity for a specific color, which motivates you to wear that color, acquire objects of that color, or paint your home in that color, since with it you identify and feel full.
In this way, it can be observed how man, from primitive times, has sought to unite or group with those who share affinities and, on the contrary, distance himself from what they have thoughts, tastes or considerations contrary to those he or she has.
On the other hand, there are the definitions given by discipline. In chemistry, affinity is defined as the tendency for two or more chemical compounds or elements to combine with each other. An example of this is the affinity of halogens and alkali metals.
Also, there is the semantic affinity that refers to the analogy or proximity that is established between words that share or have a very similar meaning, which are known as synonyms.
The electronic affinity or electro-affinity, represents the capacity that the atoms have to accept one or more electrons and finally, the pharmacological affinity, which represents the capacity that a drug has to bind with a cellular receptor, in the body.
