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A.Word.A.Day--amicable amicable (AM-i-kuh-buhl) adjective Characterized by goodwill; friendly. [From Middle English, from Late Latin amicabilis, from Latin amicus (friend). A few other words that share the same root as today's word are: amigo, amity, and enemy (in + amicus).] "The Government has called for an amicable solution to the misunderstandings in Buganda ..." Govt Calls For Amicable Solution, New Vision (Kampala, Uganda), January 20, 1999. "(Graham) Thorpe, after more heart-searching, has decided apparently that 2 1/2 months away from his family - specifically his young son and daughter, the subjects of a messy custody battle with his estranged wife - is too much, despite enthusiastic talk of a settlement as amicable as such things can be." Mike Selvey, Cricket: Thorpe Faces End of the Line, The Guardian (London), Sep 25, 2002. This week's theme: kangaroo words, words that have a joey (a smaller word with a similar sense) within them. X-Bonus To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common--this is my symphony. -William Henry Channing, clergyman, reformer (1810-1884)

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