"A" Word Origins

assess

Medieval Latin

From Old French asseser, from Medieval Latin assessare, from Latin assidere ("to sit beside", used of judges sitting to determine a case), from ad- plus sedere ("to sit").

assessed

Latin

From Latin assidere 'to sit beside', via the sense of a judge's assistant who fixed the amount of a tax or fine.

assessment

Origin

From "assess" plus the noun suffix "-ment".

assessor

Latin

From Old French assessour, from Latin assessor ("assistant judge, tax assessor").

asset

Old French

A back-formation from "assets", from Anglo-Norman asetz ("enough"), from Old French assez.

assets

Anglo-Norman

From Anglo-Norman asetz ("enough"), originally used in the singular sense of "enough to cover debts" before being reanalyzed as a plural.

asseverate

Origin

From Latin assevērāre, from assevērō (“to assert”).

assfaggot

Origin

Shitgibbon compound of ass + faggot.

asshole

Middle English · 1900

A variant of "arsehole", from Middle English ers + hole; the insult sense developed in the 20th century.

assiduous

Origin

A learned borrowing from Latin assiduus, from assidere (“to sit down to”), from ad- (“to”) + sedere (“to sit”). Compare sedulous. Cognate (via assidere) to assess.

assign

Latin

From Old French assigner, from Latin assignare, from ad- ("to") plus signare ("to mark, sign").

assignation

Origin

From Middle English assignacioun, from Old French assignacion, from Latin assīgnātiō.

assignment

Old French

From Old French assignement, from "assign" plus the noun suffix "-ment".

assimilate

Late Latin

From Late Latin assimilatus, from Latin ad- plus similis ("like, similar") — a doublet of "assemble".

assimilation

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin assimilatio, from "assimilate" plus the noun suffix "-ion".

assist

Latin

From Old French assister, from Latin assistere ("to stand by"), from ad- plus sistere ("to stand, cause to stand").

assistance

Medieval Latin

From Middle French assistance, from Medieval Latin assistentia, from "assist" plus the noun suffix "-ance".

assistant

Latin

From Middle French assistant, from "assister" ("to assist"), ultimately from Latin assistere.

assload

Origin

Sense 1 is from ass + load and is old; sense 3 is from ass + load and is newer; sense 2 came from sense 1 but is often synchronically reanalyzed as coming from sense 3.

associate

Latin

From Latin associatus, past participle of associare ("to join, unite"), from ad- plus socius ("companion, ally").

association

Latin

From Latin associatio, from "associate" plus the noun suffix "-ion".

assoil

Origin

From Middle English assoilen (“to absolve or release from blame or sin”), from Anglo-Norman as(s)oiler, as(s)oilier, and Old French as(s)oille [and other forms], the present subjunctive, and as(s)oil, the present indicative, of as(s)oldre, as(s)oudre (“to absolve from blame”) (modern French absoudre), from Latin absoluere, the present active infinitive of absoluō, a variant of absolvō (“to set free from”), from ab- (prefix meaning ‘away from’) + solvō (“to loosen, set free”) (from sē- (“prefix meaning ‘apart; aside; away’”) + luō (“to let go, set free”). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewH- (“to cut off, to free”). Doublet of absolve and assoilzie.

assoilment

Origin

From assoil + -ment.

assonance

Origin

From French assonance, from Latin assonāre; by surface analysis, a- + son- + -ance.

assort

Origin

Middle French assortir.

assortment

Origin

From "assort" plus the noun suffix "-ment".

asspussy

Origin

From ass + pussy, implying it can be used like a vagina.

assuage

Vulgar Latin

From Old French asuagier ("to calm, appease"), from Vulgar Latin *assuaviare, from Latin ad- plus suavis ("sweet, pleasant").

assume

Latin

From Latin assumere ("to take up, accept"), from ad- plus sumere ("to take").

assumption

Latin

From Latin assumptio ("a taking up"), from assumere (see "assume"), plus the noun suffix "-ion".

assumptive

Origin

From as- + Latin sūmptus + -ive, from past participle of sūmō (“to take”).

assurance

Latin

From Old French asseürance, from asseürer ("to assure"), from Latin ad- plus securus ("safe, secure").

assure

Latin

From Old French asseurer, ultimately from Latin ad- (\"to\") plus securus (\"secure\") — the same root that gives us \"secure\" and \"security.\"

asswipe

Origin · 1947

A blunt compound of "ass" and "wipe," first recorded in print around 1947.

assy

Origin

From ass (“arse, asshole”) + -y. Compare German arschig.

Asta

Italian

Borrowed from Italian Asta.

astand

Origin

From Middle English astandan, from Old English āstandan (“to stand up, stand forth, rise up, rise, continue, endure”), from Proto-Germanic *uzstandaną (“to rise, stand up”), equivalent to a- + stand. Cognate with Middle Low German erstân (“rise, get up, secure”), German erstehen (“to purchase, secure”), Gothic 𐌿𐍃𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽 (usstandan, “to rise, set out, be resurrected”). In some senses, prefix a- appears to represent and- (compare Middle English anstanden (“to resist”)), at-, on-.

astatine

Origin

From Ancient Greek ἄστατος (ástatos, “unstable”) + -ine.

aster

Ancient Greek

From Latin aster, from Ancient Greek astḗr (\"star\") — the same root as "asterisk" and "astronomy," and a distant cousin of the English word "star" itself.

asterisk

Late Latin

From Late Latin asteriscus, "little star," from Greek asterískos, a diminutive of astḗr ("star").

asterism

Origin

From Ancient Greek ἀστερισμός (asterismós, “a group of stars”), from ἀστήρ (astḗr, “star”). Analyzable as aster- + -ism.

Asterix

French

From French Astérix, based on astérisque ("asterisk"), styled to echo the many Gaulish names ending in -rix ("king").

astern

Origin

From "a-" (meaning "toward") plus "stern," the rear part of a ship.

asteroid

Greek · 1802

Coined in 1802 by astronomer William Herschel from Greek asteroeidēs, "star-like," from astḗr ("star").

asthma

Greek · 1500

From Greek âsthma, "hard breathing." The silent "th" spelling was added in the 1500s to match the Greek original.

Aston

Origin

The car sense comes from the Aston Martin brand name; the verb sense is a variant form related to "astonish."

astonish

Old French

Traces back through Middle English forms like "astony" and "astone" to Old French estoner, "to stun" — the "-ish" ending was likely added later by analogy with words like "abolish" and "banish."

astonishment

Origin

Formed from "astonish" plus the noun-forming suffix "-ment."