"A" Word Origins

amelioration

Origin

From Middle English amelioracioun, from Middle French amelioracion and probably partly ameliorate + -ion.

amen

Latin

From Hebrew amen, meaning "certainly" or "so be it," passed into English through Greek and Latin Bible translations.

amenable

French

From Anglo-Norman amenable, built on French mener, "to lead" — someone amenable can be "led" toward agreement.

amend

Latin

From Old French amender, ultimately from Latin emendare, "to remove a fault" — the same root as "emend."

amendment

French

From French amendement, built on the same root as "amend."

amends

Old French

From Old French amendes, "fines" or "reparations," from the same root as "amend."

amenity

Origin

Inherited from Middle English amenite, amenyte, partly from Middle French amenité and partly from its etymon, Latin amoenitās (“pleasantness, delightfulness”), from amoenus (“pleasant, delightful”), of unknown origin.

amerce

Origin

From Anglo-Norman amercier, from Old French a (“at”) + merci (“mercy”), thus “at the mercy of”.

amercement

Origin

From Middle English amercement, from Anglo-Norman amercier + -ment, from Old French à merci. Also from Medieval Latin amerciamentum, from amerciari + -amentum, learned Latinization of Anglo-Norman amerciament, amercement, amerciment. Equivalent to amerce + -ment.

America

New Latin

From New Latin America, a Latinized feminine form of the first name of the explorer Amerigo Vespucci.

americano

Italian

From Italian caffè americano, "American coffee," a name coined because American soldiers in Italy diluted strong espresso with water to taste more like the coffee back home.

amerind

Origin

Blend of American + Indian or possibly blend of American + indigenous. First appears c. 1899 in the publication American Anthropologist.

Ames

Origin

From the clipping of Amy + the hypocoristic suffix -s.

amethyst

Ancient Greek

From Greek amethystos, "not drunk" — ancient Greeks believed wearing or drinking from amethyst could prevent drunkenness.

Amex

Origin

From the initial syllable of each word.

Ami

Japanese

From a clipping of amigurumi, itself from Japanese 編み包み (amigurumi).

amiable

Latin

From Old French amiable, ultimately from Latin amicus, "friend" — the same root behind "amicable" and "amity."

amianthus

Origin

From Ancient Greek ἀμίαντος (amíantos, “undefiled”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + μιαίνω (miaínō, “I defile”).

amicable

Late Latin

From Late Latin amicabilis, "friendly," from amicus, "friend." A close relative of "amiable," from the same Latin root.

amicably

Middle English

From Middle English amcabily, equivalent to amicable + -ly. Piecewise doublet of amiably.

amid

Old English

From Old English on middan, "in the middle" — related to "mid" and "middle."

amidst

Middle English

A later form of "amiddes," built from "amid" plus an extra "-s" and "-t" ending, common in Middle English.

amiga

Spanish

Borrowed directly from Spanish amiga, "female friend."

amigo

Latin

Borrowed from Spanish amigo, "friend," from Latin amicus, ultimately from amare, "to love."

amin

Arabic

From Arabic amin, "trustworthy, faithful."

Amina

Arabic

From Arabic Aminah, the feminine form of Amin, "trustworthy."

aminah

Origin

Spelling variant of Amina.

amino

Origin

From "amine," itself traced back to "ammonia," the pungent gas whose name comes from the Egyptian god Amun.

Amir

Arabic

From Arabic amir, "commander, prince" — the same root as "emir" and "admiral."

Amira

Arabic

From Arabic amira, "princess," the feminine form of amir.

amirah

Origin

Spelling variant of Amira.

Amis

Latin

From Old French Amis, a given name and nickname, from Latin amīcus (“friend”).

Amish

Origin · 1600

Named after Jakob Ammann, a 17th-century Swiss preacher who founded the movement.

amiss

Origin

From "a-" plus "miss," originally meaning "off target" or "astray."

amit

Latin

From Latin āmittō (“to lose, to send away”).

Amitabh

Sanskrit

From Sanskrit amitabha, "boundless light" — also the name of a major figure in Buddhist tradition.

amity

Origin

From Middle English amite, from Old French amisté, amitie, amistiet, from Vulgar Latin *amīcitātem, derived from Latin amīcus (“friend”), from amō (“love”).

Amjad

Arabic

From Arabic amjad, "most glorious," most common as a surname in Pakistan.

amma

Hindi

Related to the word for "mother" across several South Asian languages, including Tamil, Hindi, and Telugu.

Amman

Arabic

From Arabic Ammān.

ammo

Latin

A shortened form of "ammunition", which traces back through French to the Latin munitio, "fortification, defense".

ammon

Origin

From Hebrew עַמּוֹן (ammon), from the root ע־מ־ם.

ammonia

Latin

Named after the Latin sal ammoniacus, "salt of Ammon" — the substance was first collected near a temple to the Egyptian god Ammon.

ammonium

Latin

Formed in scientific Latin from "ammonia" plus the chemical suffix "-ium", following the pattern used for naming metallic-acting ions.

ammunition

Latin

Borrowed from French, ultimately from Latin munitio, "defense, fortification" — the initial "a" crept in when "la munition" was mistakenly split as "l'amunition".

amnesia

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek amnesia, "forgetfulness", built from the negative prefix a- ("not") plus a root related to mimneskein, "to remember".

amnesiac

Origin

Formed from "amnesia" plus the adjective-forming suffix "-ac", on the same pattern as "maniac".

amnesty

Greek

From Greek amnestia, "forgetfulness" — the same root that gives us "amnesia"; an amnesty is a formal decision to officially forget an offense.