Affectionate means showing warm fondness openly, with hugs and kind words. An affectionate child, affectionate towards him, an affectionate letter.
The showing is the point — you can be fond of somebody privately and not be affectionate. It is used of animals as readily as of people. Note that aficionado, the enthusiast, is the same Latin word arriving through Spanish.
1adjectiveaffectionateShowing warm fondness openly.
“Our dog is very affectionate and loves to lie with its head on your lap.”
affectionate is a quality of warmth.
Also accepted in games: loving
Latin affectionatus comes from affectio, a disposition or feeling, from afficere, to influence.
Latin
affectiōnātus
English, today
affectionate
Learned borrowing from Latin affectiōnātus. Latin affectiōnātus. by surface analysis, affection + -ate. a doublet of aficionado.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA