"A" Word Origins

avoidance

Origin

From avoid + the noun-forming suffix -ance.

Avon

Welsh

From Proto-Brythonic *aβon, "river" — related to Welsh afon, so "River Avon" literally means "River River".

avouch

Origin

From Old French avouchier, from Latin advocāre. Doublet of advocate, advoke, and avow.

avow

Origin

From Middle English avowen, from Old French avouer, from Latin advocare (“to call to, call upon, hence to call as a witness, defender, patron, or advocate”), from ad (“to”) + vocare (“to call”). Doublet of advoke, avouch, and advocate. Not related to vow.

avowed

Origin

From avow + -ed.

avraham

Origin

Transliteration of Hebrew אַבְרָהָם.

Avril

French · 1900

A 20th-century coinage from French avril, "April".

aw

Origin

A natural exclamation rather than a word with a traced history.

awa

Origin

Borrowed from Hawaiian ʻawa.

await

Anglo-Norman

From Anglo-Norman awaitier, "to watch or lie in wait for", from a- + waitier, "to watch" — related to modern "wait".

awake

Middle English

From Middle English awake, a shortened form of awaken.

awaken

Origin

From Middle English awakenen or awaknen, from Old English awæcnan or awæcnian, from a- plus wæcnan or wæcnian.

awakening

Origin

From awaken + -ing.

award

Medieval Latin

From Anglo-Norman awarder, from Medieval Latin *exwardare — from Latin ex- + wardare, "to observe/guard"; related to "ward" and "guard".

aware

Old English

From Old English ġewær, from Proto-Germanic *waraz, "aware, cautious" — related to Dutch gewaar and German gewahr.

awareness

Origin

From aware + -ness.

awash

Origin

From a- + wash.

away

Old English

From Old English onweġ, literally "on one's way", from a- + way.

awe

Old Norse

From Old Norse agi, "terror, dread", from Proto-Germanic *agaz.

aweless

Origin

From Middle English aweles; by surface analysis, awe + -less.

awesome

Origin · 1900

From awe + -some. The informal "excellent" sense became especially popular in American English from the mid-20th century onward.

awesomeness

Origin

From awesome + -ness.

awestruck

Origin

From awe + struck.

awful

Middle English

From Middle English aweful, "awe-inspiring" (awe + -ful). The modern negative sense developed as a shift from "awe-inspiring" to simply "very bad".

awfully

Origin

From awful + -ly.

awfulness

Origin

From Middle English aghfulnesse, equivalent to awful + -ness.

awhile

Old English

From Old English āne hwīle, "(for) a while".

awkward

Middle English

From Middle English awke, "clumsy" + -ward.

awkwardly

Origin

From awkward + -ly.

awkwardness

Origin

From awkward + -ness.

awl

Origin

From Middle English aul, alle, al, from Old English æl, from Proto-West Germanic *al, from Proto-Germanic *alaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ólos. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Äil (“awl”), Dutch aal (“awl”), German Low German Ahl (“awl”), German Ahle (“awl”), Icelandic alur (“awl”). Spelling was influenced by the Old English synonym awel, awul (“awl”), from Proto-West Germanic *ahwal, from Proto-Germanic *ahwalaz (“fork, hook”), of unknown origin. Doublet of elsen.

awning

Middle French

Origin uncertain; likely from a nautical term related to Middle French auvans, "sloping roof".

AWOL

Origin

An acronym of "absent without official leave", originally US military usage.

awry

Middle English

From Middle English awry — a- + wry.

Ax

Old English

From Old English æx; the same word as "axe", spelled differently in American English.

axe

Old English

From Old English æx, from Proto-Germanic *akwisī, ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "sharp, pointed".

axel

Norwegian · 1882

Named after the Norwegian figure skater Axel Paulsen, who first performed the jump in 1882.

axeman

Origin

From axe + man.

axilla

Origin

Borrowed from Latin axilla (“side, armpit”). Doublet of axil.

axiom

Greek

From Greek axioma 'that which is thought worthy or self-evident', from axios 'worthy'.

axiomatic

Origin

From Ancient Greek ἀξιωμᾰτικός (axiōmătikós, “employing logical propositions”), from ἀξίωμα (axíōma, “self-evident principle”) + -ικός (-ikós, “of or pertaining to, -ic”), equivalent to axiom + -atic.

axis

Latin · 1500

Borrowed in the 16th century from Latin axis, meaning "axle" or "axis" — the same root that gives us "axle".

axle

Latin

From Old English eaxl, originally meaning "shoulder", related to Latin axis and German Achsel ("armpit") — the idea of a joint that things pivot on.

ay

Middle English

From Middle English variants such as ei and ey, an old exclamation of pain or surprise, likely shaped by imitation of the natural sound people make when hurt.

aya

Origin

The planetoid was named after the Akkadian goddess, which began with the same first letter as the provisional designation 2002 AW₁₉₇.

ayahuasca

Origin

From Quechua ayawaska, combining aya ("spirit" or "ancestor") and waska ("vine") — literally "vine of the spirits".

Ayako

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese あやこ (Ayako).

Ayala

Origin

From Basque Aiara, after a town in the Basque Country.