"A" Word Origins

as soon as possible

English

A fixed phrase; its initialism ASAP is now a word in its own right.

Asa

Origin

Via Late Latin Asa from Koine Greek Ἀσά (Asá) from Biblical Hebrew אָסָא (ʾĀsāʾ), from Aramaic אָסְיָא (ʾāsyā, “physician, doctor, healer”), from Akkadian 𒀀𒍪 (A.ZU /⁠asû⁠/) from Sumerian 𒀀𒍪 (A.ZU /⁠azu⁠/, “physician, healer”); compare Classical Syriac ܐܵܣܝܵܐ (ʾāsyā, “healer, physician, medical doctor”) whence Arabic آسٍ (ʔāsin).

Asad

Arabic

Borrowed from Arabic أَسَد (ʔasad).

Asahi

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese 旭 (Asahi).

asana

Origin

Borrowed from Sanskrit आसन (ā́sana, āsaná, “sitting down”), from आस्ते (ā́ste, “to sit down”).

Asano

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese 浅野 (Asano).

ASAP

English

An initialism of as soon as possible.

asbestos

Ancient Greek

From Greek asbestos, meaning "unquenchable" — the ancient Greeks named it for its remarkable resistance to fire, long before its health dangers were understood.

ascend

Latin

From Latin ascendere, "to climb up," built from ad- ("to") plus scandere ("to climb") — the same root gives us "scan" and "descend."

ascendancy

Origin

From ascend + -ancy or ascendant + -cy. The use in ecology is due to Robert Ulanowicz.

ascendant

Latin

From Latin ascendens, the present participle of ascendere ("to climb, rise") — the same root as "ascend."

ascending

Latin

The -ing form of "ascend," from Latin ascendere, "to climb up."

ascension

Latin

From Latin ascensio, "a climbing up," from ascendere ("to ascend").

ascent

Origin

Formed to match "descent," on the model of the verb pair ascend/descend.

ascertain

Latin

From Old French acertener, "to make certain," ultimately from Latin certus ("certain, sure") — the same root as "certain."

ascetic

Greek

From Greek askētikos, "given to exercise or training," from askein ("to exercise, train") — originally describing the rigorous training of an athlete before it came to mean spiritual self-discipline.

ascorbic

Origin

From a- + scorbutic, possibly influenced by scorbic.

Ascot

Old English

From Old English ēast (“east”) + cot (“cottage, hut”). Doublet of Eastcote.

ascribe

Origin

From Middle English ascriben, from Old French ascrivre (“inscribe, attribute, impute”), from Latin āscrībere (“to state in writing”), equivalent to a- + scribe.

aseity

Origin

From Medieval Latin aseitas (“state of being by itself”), from Classical Latin a se + -itas.

aseptic

Origin

From a- + septic.

asexual

Latin

Built from a- ("without") plus "sexual," from Latin sexus ("sex").

asf

English

An initialism of as fuck.

ash

Old English

From Old English æsce, going back to a very old Germanic and Indo-European root connected to fire, burning, and dryness.

Asha

Sanskrit

From Sanskrit आशा (asha), related to the Avestan concept of cosmic truth central to Zoroastrian belief.

ashamed

Old English

From Old English āscamian ("to feel shame"), built from a- (an intensifying prefix) plus "shame."

ashcan

Origin

From ash + can.

Ashcroft

Old English

Habitational surname from two minor places in England, from Old English æsċ (“ash tree”) + croft (“enclosed field”).

ashen

Origin

From Middle English asshen, aisshen, esscen, from Old English æsċen (“made of ashwood”), equivalent to ash + -en (“made or consisting of”). Cognate with Scots aschin, eschin (“ashen”).

Asher

Hebrew

From Hebrew אָשֵׁר ('ashér).

Ashford

Old English

From Old English æscet (“a clump of ash trees”) + ford or, alternatively, from æsc (“an ash tree”) + ford. Equivalent to ash + ford.

Ashish

Sanskrit

Borrowed from Sanskrit आशीष (āśīṣa).

Ashland

Old English

From Old English æsċ (“ash tree”) + land, equivalent to ash + land. Many places in the United States are named after Ashland, Henry Clay's estate.

Ashley

Old English

From Old English elements meaning "ash tree" and "clearing" — literally a clearing among ash trees.

ashly

Origin

20th-century spelling variant of Ashley.

Ashok

Sanskrit

From Sanskrit, meaning "without sorrow" — the same root that gives the name Ashoka, the famous Indian emperor.

ashore

Origin

Formed from the prefix a- ("on, to") plus shore.

ashram

Sanskrit

Borrowed from Sanskrit āśrama, a term for a hermitage or stage of spiritual life.

Ashton

Old English

From Old English words meaning "ash tree" and "settlement" — an ash-tree settlement.

ashtray

Origin

A straightforward compound of ash and tray.

Ashura

Arabic

From Arabic, literally meaning "tenth" — referring to the tenth day of the month.

Ashworth

Old English

From Old English words for "ash tree" and "enclosure."

Asi

Arabic

From Arabic الْعَاصِي (al-ʕāṣī).

Asia

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek Asia, a name of uncertain origin possibly linked to a Hittite word for northwest Anatolia.

Asian

Origin

Formed from Asia plus the suffix -an.

aside

Old English

From Old English "on sīdan," literally "on the side of" — the same root as beside.

Asif

Persian

Linked to Persian and Urdu āsaf, traditionally associated with the name of Solomon's vizier.

asinary

Origin

From Latin asinārius.