"A" Word Origins

aktionsart

Origin

From German Aktionsart, from Aktion (“action”) + Art (“kind, sort”). Attested in English from the 19th century.

akum

Origin

Presumably from Hebrew עכו״ם (an acronym for the phrase עובד כוכבים ומזלות "worshiper of stars and constellations"), pronounced as a word.

al

Origin

From Hindi आल (āl).

al fresco

Italian

From Italian al fresco, literally 'in the fresh (air)'.

ala

Latin

From Latin ala, meaning "wing" — the same root that gives us "aisle."

Alabama

Spanish

Likely from Spanish Alibamo, from the Alabama people's own name Albaamo for themselves — the same word later became the name of the U.S. state.

alabaster

Ancient Greek

From Old French alabastre, ultimately from Ancient Greek alabastros, a word for a handleless vase used to store perfume — possibly traced back to an Egyptian phrase referring to a vessel of the goddess Bast.

alack

Middle English

From Middle English alacke, likely a blend of "ah" and "lack" (in the old sense of "loss" or "failure").

alacritous

Origin

From alacrity + -ous.

alacrity

Origin

Mid-15th century; from Middle English alacrite, from Latin alacritās, from alacer (“brisk”) + -itās (“-ity”).

Alain

French

The French form of the name that appears in English as Alan.

alaina

Origin

A variant of Alana coined in the 20th century from Alain, the French equivalent of Alan.

alameda

Spanish

From Spanish alameda, a public walkway shaded by poplar trees, from álamo ("poplar").

alamo

Spanish

From Spanish álamo ("poplar tree") — the same word behind the name of the famous San Antonio mission and battle site.

alamort

Origin

From Middle French à la mort (“to the death”). Compare amort.

Alan

Origin

From Old Breton Alan, an early saints' name of disputed Celtic origin; unrelated to the historical "Alan" tribe name, which comes from an Iranian root.

Alana

Origin

Formed from Alan plus the feminine ending -a.

alanna

Origin

A feminine form of Alan; variant spelling of Alana. Compare also Alannah.

alannah

Origin

Modern variant of Alana, the feminine form of Alan. Also associated with the affectionate Anglo-Irish term of address alanna (“child”). The spelling is influenced by names of Hebrew origin such as Hannah and Susannah.

Alaric

Origin

From Gothic elements meaning "all" and "ruler," giving a sense of "ruler of everyone."

alarm

French

From Old Italian all'arme!, literally "to arms!" — a battle cry that passed through French into English as a single word.

alarmingly

Origin

From alarming + the adverb-forming suffix -ly.

alas

Latin

From Old French a las, from a ("ah") plus las ("weary"), from Latin lassus ("tired").

Alaska

Russian

From an Aleut word referring to the mainland, describing land toward which the sea's currents are directed; the name reached English through Russian.

Alaskan

Origin

From Alaska + the adjective-forming suffix -an.

Alastair

Scottish Gaelic

From Scottish Gaelic Alasdair, itself derived from Alexander.

alb

Origin

From Middle English aube, awbe, albe, abbe, from Late Old English albe (but later reinforced by Old French aube, Medieval Latin alba), borrowed from Latin alba (as in tunica alba (“white tunic”), vestis alba (“white garment”)), feminine of albus (“white”). Doublet of alba.

alba

Latin

Ultimately from Latin albus, "white," which also gives the Spanish word alba, "dawn."

albacore

Origin

From Portuguese albacor, from Arabic اَلْبَكُورَة (al-bakūra, “the young camels”).

Alban

Latin

From Latin Albānus ("of Alba"), referring to the ancient city of Alba Longa in Latium.

Albania

Medieval Latin

Traced through Medieval Latin and Byzantine Greek back to an old regional name, possibly linked to a root meaning "white" or "highland."

Albanian

Origin

From Albania + the adjective/noun suffix -n.

Albany

Latin

From an old Gaelic name for Scotland (Alba), which passed through Latin and Middle English into its current form.

albatross

Latin

Probably from Spanish or Portuguese alcatraz ("pelican" or "gannet"), altered under the influence of Latin albus ("white"). The "burden" meaning comes from Coleridge's poem "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," in which a sailor is forced to wear a dead albatross around his neck as punishment.

albeit

Middle English

A fusion of the Middle English phrase "al be it (that)," literally "although it be that."

Albert

Latin

From Old English elements meaning "noble" and "bright," reinforced later by the Old French/Latin form Albertus; related to the name Ethelbert.

Alberta

Origin

Formed from Albert plus the feminine ending -a; the province takes its name directly from Princess Louise Caroline Alberta.

albertina

Origin

A feminine diminutive form of Albert. Latinate variant of Albertine. By surface analysis, Albert + -ina.

Albertine

French

A French-influenced variant of Albertina, from Albert.

Alberto

Italian

The Italian and Spanish form of Albert.

Albie

Origin

Shortened from "false albacore," itself named for its resemblance to the albacore tuna.

Albin

Latin

From the Latin cognomen Albinus, itself from albus ("white"); in Germanic-speaking regions sometimes influenced by a separate name meaning "elf friend," which also gives rise to Alvin.

albina

Origin

From Latin Albina (name of a third-century martyr), feminine form of the Roman cognomen Albīnus, derivative of Latin albus (“white”).

albino

Latin

Borrowed from Portuguese and Spanish albino, ultimately from Latin albus ("white").

Albion

Origin

From an ancient Celtic name for Britain, likely related to a root meaning "white," possibly a reference to the white cliffs of Dover.

Albright

Old English

From Old English elements meaning "noble" and "bright," making it a doublet of Albert.

album

Latin

From Latin album, "a blank white tablet" — Roman officials used whitened boards like this to post public notices, from albus, "white."

albumen

Origin

Learned borrowing from Late Latin albūmen (“egg white, albumen; type of eye disease”) (whence Late Middle English albuminium (“clear fluid in the eyeball between the cornea and lens, aqueous humour”)), from Latin albus (“white”, adjective) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *albʰós (“white”, adjective)) + -men (suffix forming nouns), modelled after ferrūmen (“cement; glue”). The plural form albumina is a learned borrowing from Late Latin albūmina.