This week’s theme
Kangaroo words

This week’s words
balsam
exultation
balderdash
transgression
amiable


This week’s comments
AWADmail 1147

Next week’s theme
There’s a word for it

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(AY-mee-uh-buhl)

MEANING:

adjective: Pleasant; friendly.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin amicus (friend), which also gave us amity, amicus curiae, amigo, inimical, and enemy. Earliest documented use: 1375.

NOTES:

Here are the joeys in kangaroo words featured this week:
balsam: balm
exultation: elation. These are extra special kangaroo words because they both originate from Latin salire (to leap).
balderdash: blah
transgression: sin
amiable: amable. Amiable itself is a joey of amicable. Three generations of kangaroo words, like Matryoshka dolls!

USAGE:

“Mr Rutte’s amiable demeanour masks a killer political instinct.”
Farewell to the Dutch Tigger; The Economist (London, UK); Jul 15, 2023.

See more usage examples of amiable in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: