From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcordialcor‧di‧al1 /ˈkɔːdiəl $ ˈkɔːrdʒəl/ noun [countable, uncountable] 1 British EnglishDFD sweet fruit juice that you add water to before you drink it lime cordial2 DFD American English old-fashioned a strong sweet alcoholic drink SYN liqueur an after-dinner cordial
Examples from the Corpus
cordial• We will see people farming unlikely crops, like elder whose flowers make an appetizing cordial, and whose berries make wine.• We were offered an after-dinner cordial.• Two glasses of green cordial were brought.cordialcordial2 adjective FRIENDLYfriendly but quite polite and formal The talks were conducted in a cordial atmosphere.► see thesaurus at friendly —cordiality /ˌkɔːdiˈæləti $ ˌkɔːrdʒiˈæ-, kɔːrˈdʒæ-/ noun [uncountable]Examples from the Corpus
cordial• Meanwhile, relations in the scrum were not always cordial.• Relations among members of the two groups have not always been cordial.• Though one was a Democrat and the other a Republican, the rivalry over which one would move up first was cordial.• Donnely was polite and cordial, but she refused to sign the contract.• Shy but cordial friendships were struck up, which Mrs Thomlinson was powerless to prevent or subvert.• And a cordial greeting to you.• Likeable, cordial, he sits down in a chair facing her husband and herself and proceeds to converse with them.• I received a cordial note from Mrs. Thomas thanking me for the present.• Britain and Portugal have had cordial relations for more than four centuries.Origin cordial2 (1300-1400) Medieval Latin cordialis, from Latin cor “heart” 