"A" Word Origins

athina

Origin

From Greek Αθήνα (Athína), from Ancient Greek Ἀθῆναι (Athênai). Doublet of Athens.

athirst

Origin

Inherited from Middle English athirst, from Old English ofþyrst, past participle of ofþyrstan (“to smart from thirst”), equivalent to a- (“of”, Etymology 8) + thirst (verb).

athlete

Latin

From Latin athleta, from Greek athletes ("one who competes for a prize"), from athlon ("prize, contest").

athletic

Latin

From Latin athleticus, from Greek athletikos ("relating to an athlete"), from athletes ("athlete").

athletics

Origin

From athletic, formed with the suffix -ics on the model of words like "gymnastics."

Athos

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek Ἄθως (Áthōs).

athwart

Origin

From Late Middle English athwert, athirt, from a- (prefix meaning ‘in the direction of, toward’) + thwert (“crosswise; (cooking) across the grain”, adverb). Thwert is derived from thwert (“crosswise, transverse; counter, opposing; contrary, obstinate, stubborn”, adjective), borrowed from Old Norse þvert (“across, athwart”), originally the neuter form of þverr (“across, transverse”), from Proto-Germanic *þwerhaz (“cross; adverse”) (altered or influenced by Proto-Germanic *þweraną (“to stir; to swirl; to turn”)), from Proto-Germanic *þerh-, probably from Proto-Indo-European *terkʷ- (“to spin; to turn”). The English word is analysable as a- (prefix meaning ‘in the direction of, toward’) + thwart (“placed or situated across something else”). Cognates * Scots athort (“athwart”)

Atlanta

Origin

Traditionally explained as a feminine form of Atlantic.

atlantean

Origin

From Atlas + -ean and Atlantis + -ean.

Atlantis

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek Ἀτλαντίς (Atlantís), related to Atlas.

atlas

Greek · 1500

From the Titan Atlas in Greek myth, condemned to carry the sky on his shoulders. The mapmaker Mercator used an image of Atlas holding the globe on the cover of his 16th-century map collection, and the name stuck for any book of maps.

ATM

English

An initialism of automated teller machine.

atmosphere

New Latin

From French atmosphère, from New Latin atmosphaera, from Greek atmos ("vapor") + sphaira ("sphere").

atmospheric

Origin

From atmosphere + -ic.

atoll

Portuguese

Borrowed from Portuguese atol, from the Dhivehi word atoḷu, the language of the Maldives.

atom

Latin

From Latin atomus, from Greek atomos ("indivisible"), from a- ("not") + temno ("to cut"). Ancient philosophers imagined atoms as the smallest possible pieces of matter, though we now know atoms themselves are divisible.

atomic

Origin

From atom + -ic.

atomic mass unit

English

A descriptive compound: atomic, from Greek atomos 'indivisible', plus mass unit.

aton

Origin

Abbreviation

atone

Middle English

From Middle English atone, literally "at one" — to bring into agreement or unity, later coming to mean making amends.

atonement

Origin

From atone + -ment, originally formed from at + onement ("the state of being at one").

atop

Origin

From a- ("on") + top.

ATP

English

An initialism of adenosine triphosphate.

atrabiliary

Origin

From Latin ātra bīlis (“black bile”) (āter (“dark, black”) + bīlis (“bile”)) + -ary.

atrabilious

Origin

From Latin ātra bīlis (“black bile”) (āter (“dark, black”) + bīlis (“bile”)) + -ous (“full of”), referring to the humour which ancient Hippocratic and later Galenic medicine associated with sadness and despondency.

atramentous

Origin

From Latin ātrāmentōsus, from ātrāmentum (“black liquid, ink”). Equivalent to atrament + -ous.

atray

Origin

From Middle English atrayen, atreyen, atreȝen, equivalent to a- + tray (“to grieve, vex”). More at tray.

atrium

Latin

From Latin atrium ("entrance hall"), borrowed from Etruscan.

atrocious

Latin

From Latin atrox ("cruel, fierce") + -ious.

atrocity

Latin

From Latin atrocitas, from atrox ("cruel, terrible").

atroke

Origin

From Middle English atrokien, atrukien (“to fail”), equivalent to a- + troke or a- + truck.

atrophy

Greek

From Greek atrophia, "a wasting away," built from a- ("not") and trophe ("nourishment") — literally, not being fed.

atropine

Greek

Named after Atropa, the botanical genus of deadly nightshade, which itself was named after Atropos, the Greek Fate who cut the thread of life.

atspring

Origin

From Middle English atspringen, ætspringen, from Old English ætspringan (“to rush forth, spurt out, spring out”), equivalent to at- + spring. Compare Dutch ontspringen (“to spring, well, outflow”), German entspringen (“to spring from, escape, arise”).

Atsuko

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese あつこ (Atsuko).

att

Origin

From the Lao word for this fractional currency unit.

Atta

Origin

Probably from that's a with heavy simplification.

attaboy

Origin

A slurred, run-together pronunciation of "that's the boy!"

attach

Old French

From Old French atachier, "to fasten," related to a Frankish word for stick or stake — the same root that gives us "attack" and "stake."

attachment

French

From French attachement, built from attach plus the noun-forming suffix -ment.

attack

French

From French attaquer, ultimately from Italian attaccare ("to join, engage"), sharing a root with "attach."

attagirl

Origin

A slurred pronunciation of "that's the girl!"

attain

Latin

From Old French ataindre, "to reach," from Latin attingere ("to touch, reach"), from ad- ("to") plus tangere ("to touch").

attainable

Origin

From attain + -able.

attainder

Origin

From Anglo-Norman ataindre ("to reach"), with infinitives used as nouns being frequent in Law French. Doublet of attain and attinge.

attainment

Origin

From attain + -ment; compare Old French ataignement.

attaint

Origin

From Middle English atteinte, from Old French ateint, past participle of ateindre; in some senses influenced by taint.

attaintment

Origin

From attaint + -ment.