EYMOLOGIES9(www.etymonline.com)

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-ability Look up -ability at Dictionary.com
suffix expressing ability or capacity, from L. -abilitas, forming nouns from adjs. ending in -abilis (see -able). Not etymologically related to ability, though popularly connected with it.
-able Look up -able at Dictionary.com
suffix expressing ability, capacity, fitness, from L. -ibilis, -abilis, forming adjectives from verbs, from PIE *-tro-, a suffix used to form nouns of instrument. In L., infinitives in -are took -abilis, others -ibilis; in Eng., -able is used for native words, -ible for words of obvious L. origin. The Latin suffix is not etymologically connected with able, but it long has been popularly associated with it, and this has contributed to its survival as a living suffix. It is related to the second syllable of rudder and saddle.
-acea Look up -acea at Dictionary.com
suffix denoting orders and classes in zoology, from L. -acea, neut. pl. of -aceus "belonging to, of the nature of" (enlarged from adj. suffix -ax, gen. -acis); neut. pl. because of a presumed animalia, a neuter plural noun. Thus, crustacea "shellfish" are *crustacea animalia "crusty animals." In botany, the suffix is -aceae, from the fem. pl. of -aceus, with reference to L. plantae, which is a fem. plural.
-ad Look up -ad at Dictionary.com
suffix denoting collective numerals (cf. Olympiad), from Gk. -as (gen. -ados), a suffix forming fem. nouns; also used in fem. patronymics (Dryad, Naiad, also, in plural, Pleiades, Hyades).
-ado Look up -ado at Dictionary.com
in commando, desperado, tornado,, and other words of Sp. and Port. origin, "person or group participating in an action," from L. -atus, pp. suffix of verbs of the first conjugation (cf. -ade).
-age Look up -age at Dictionary.com
suffix forming nouns of act, process, function, condition, from O.Fr./Fr. -age, from L.L. -aticum "belonging to, related to," originally neut. adj. suffix, from L. -atus, pp. suffix of verbs of the first conjugation.
-aholic Look up -aholic at Dictionary.com
abstracted from alcoholic first in sugarholic (1965), later in workaholic (1968), golfaholic (1971), chocoholic (1976), and shopaholic (1984).
-algia Look up -algia at Dictionary.com
suffix denoting "pain," from Gk. algos "pain," algein "to feel pain," of unknown origin. Related to alegein "to care about," originally "to feel pain."
-archy Look up -archy at Dictionary.com
suffix meaning "rule," from L. -archia, from Gk. -arkhia, from arkhos "leader, chief, ruler," from arkhe "beginning, origin, first place" (see archon).
-aster Look up -aster at Dictionary.com
suffix expressing incomplete resemblance (e.g. poetaster), usually dim. and deprecatory, from L., from Gk. -aster, suffix originally forming nouns from verbs ending in -azein, later generalized as a pejorative suffix, e.g. patraster "he who plays the father."
a (1) Look up a at Dictionary.com
indefinite article, c.1150, a variation of O.E. an (see an) in which the -n- began to disappear before consonants, a process mostly complete by 1340. The -n- also was retained before words beginning with a sounded -h- until c.1600; it still is retained by many writers before unaccented syllables in h- or (e)u-, but is now no longer normally spoken as such. The -n- also lingered (especially in southern England dialect) before -w- and -y- through 15c.
a (2) Look up a at Dictionary.com
as in twice a day, etc., is from O.E. an "on," in this case "on each." The sense was extended from time to measure, price, place, etc. The habit of tacking a onto a gerund (as in a-hunting we will go) died out 18c.
a capella Look up a capella at Dictionary.com
1876, earlier alla capella (1847), from It., "in the manner of the chapel," lit. "according to the chapel," from cappella "chapel." Originally in ref. to older church music (pre-1600) which was written for unaccompanied voices; applied 20c. to unaccompanied vocal music generally.
a priori Look up a priori at Dictionary.com
1710, "from cause to effect" (a logical term, in ref. to reasoning), from L., lit. "from what comes first," from priori, abl. of prior "first" (see prior (adj.)). Used loosely for "in accordance with previous knowledge" (1834).
A&P Look up A&P at Dictionary.com
U.S. grocery chain, originally The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, founded 1859 by George Huntington Hartford and George Gilman.
a- (1) Look up a- at Dictionary.com
in native (derived from O.E.) words, it most commonly represents O.E. an "on" (see a (2)), as in alive, asleep, abroad, ashore, etc., forming adjectives and adverbs from nouns; but it also can be M.E. of, as in anew, abreast (1599); or a reduced form of O.E. pp. prefix ge-, as in aware; or the O.E. intens. a-, as in arise, awake, ashame, marking a verb as momentary, a single event. In words from Romanic languages, often it represents L. ad- "to, at."

"[I]t naturally happened that all these a- prefixes were at length confusedly lumped together in idea, and the resultant a- looked upon as vaguely intensive, rhetorical, euphonic, or even archaic, and wholly otiose." [OED]

a- (2) Look up a- at Dictionary.com
prefix meaning "not," from L. a-, short for ab "away from" (cf. avert), or its cognate, Gk. a-, short for apo "away from, from," both cognate with Skt. apa "away from," Goth. af, O.E. of.
a- (3) Look up a- at Dictionary.com
prefix meaning "not," from Gk. a-, an- "not," from PIE base *ne "not" (see un-).
A-1 Look up A-1 at Dictionary.com
in figurative sense of "first-rate," 1837, is from Lloyd's of London designation for ships in first-class condition.
A-frame Look up A-frame at Dictionary.com
type of framework shaped like the letter A, 1909; in building construction, attested from 1932.
A-line Look up A-line at Dictionary.com
descriptive of a dress or skirt flared in shape of a letter "A," 1955, in ref. to Christian Dior.
A-OK Look up A-OK at Dictionary.com
1961, abbreviation of all (systems) OK, originally in the jargon of astronauts. See OK.
A.D. Look up A.D. at Dictionary.com
1579, from L. Anno Domini "Year of the Lord." First put forth by Dionysius Exiguus in 527 or 533 C.E., but at first used only for Church business. Introduced in Italy in 7c., France (partially) in 8c. In England, first found in a charter of 680 C.E. Ordained for all ecclesiastical documents in England by the Council of Chelsea, July 27, 816. The resistance to it may have been in part because Dionysius chose 754 A.U.C. as the birth year of Jesus, while many early Christians would have thought it was 750 A.U.C. [See John J. Bond, "Handy-Book of Rules and Tables for Verifying Dates With the Christian Era," 4th ed., London: George Bell & Sons, 1889]
a.k.a. Look up a.k.a. at Dictionary.com
acronym for also known as; according to OED and other sources, first recorded 1955, Amer.Eng., but it is attested in legal documents from at least 1936 [cf. 4 Conn. Supp. 327, 1936 Conn. Super. LEXIS 205: GENERAL BAKING COMPANY vs. HYMAN KAPLAN (a.k.a. HYMAN I. KAPLAN)]. The OED reference date may be for non-legalese usage.
A.M. Look up A.M. at Dictionary.com
1762, abbreviation of L. ante meridiem "before noon."
a.m. Look up a.m. at Dictionary.com
type of radio wave broadcast; see amplitude.
a.s.a.p. Look up a.s.a.p. at Dictionary.com
"as soon as possible," 1955, originally U.S. Army slang.
aardvark Look up aardvark at Dictionary.com
1833, from Afrikaans Du., lit. "earth-pig" (the animal burrows), from aard "earth" (see earth) + vark "pig," cognate with O.H.G. farah (cf. Ger. Ferkel "young pig, sucking pig," a dim. form), O.E. fearh (see farrow).
Aaron Look up Aaron at Dictionary.com
masc. proper name, in O.T., brother of Moses, from Heb. Aharon, probably of Egyptian origin. The Arabic form is Harun.
aback Look up aback at Dictionary.com
O.E. on bæc, "at or on the back." Now surviving mainly in taken aback, originally a nautical expression for a sudden change of wind that flattens the square sails back against the masts and stops the forward motion of a ship (1754). The figurative sense is first recorded 1840.
abacus Look up abacus at Dictionary.com
1387, "sand table for drawing, calculating, etc.," from L. abacus, from Gk. abax (gen. abakos) "counting table," from Heb. abaq "dust," from root a-b-q "to fly off." Originally a drawing board covered with dust or sand that could be written on to do mathematical equations. Specific reference to a counting frame is 17c. or later.
Abaddon Look up Abaddon at Dictionary.com
c.1382, used in Rev. ix.11 of "the angel of the bottomless pit," and by Milton of the pit itself, from Heb. Abhaddon "destruction," from abhadh "he perished." The Gk. form was Apollyon (q.v.).
abaft Look up abaft at Dictionary.com
O.E. on bæftan "backwards," the second component itself a compound of be "by" + æftan "aft" (see aft). Since M.E. used exclusively of ships, the stern being the "after" part of a vessel.
abalone Look up abalone at Dictionary.com
1850, Amer.Eng., from Sp. abulon from Costanoan (a California coastal Indian language family) aluan "red abalone."
abandon Look up abandon at Dictionary.com
1375, "to subjugate, subdue," from O.Fr. abandoner "surrender," from à "at, to" + bandon "power, jurisdiction," in phrase mettre à bandon "to give up to a public ban," from L. bannum, "proclamation," from a Frankish word related to ban (v.). Etymologically, the word carries a sense of "put someone under someone else's control." Meaning "to give up absolutely" is from 1386. The noun sense of "letting loose, surrender to natural impulses" (1822) is from Fr. abandon.
abase Look up abase at Dictionary.com
1393, abaishen, from O.Fr. à bassier "make lower," from V.L. *ad bassiare "bring lower," from L.L. bassus "thick, fat, low;" from the same source as base (adj.) and altered in Eng. by influence of it, which made it an exception to the rule that O.Fr. verbs with stem -iss- enter Eng. as -ish.
abash Look up abash at Dictionary.com
c.1303, from O.Fr. esbaiss-, stem of esbaer "gape with astonishment," from es "out" + ba(y)er "to be open, gape," from L. *batare "to yawn, gape," from root *bat, possibly imitative of yawning. Bashful is 16c. derivative.
abate Look up abate at Dictionary.com
c.1270, from O.Fr. abattre "beat down," from L. ad "to" + battuere "to beat" (see batter (v.)). Secondary sense of "to fell, slaughter" is in abatis and abattoir.
abatis Look up abatis at Dictionary.com
"defense made of felled trees," 1766, from Fr., lit. "things thrown down," from O.Fr. abateis, from abattre "to beat down, throw down" (see abate).
abattoir Look up abattoir at Dictionary.com
"slaughterhouse for cows," 1820, from Fr. abattre "to beat down" (see abate).
Abbassid Look up Abbassid at Dictionary.com
dynasty of caliphs of Baghdad (750-1258) claiming descent from Abbas (566-652), uncle of Muhammad. For his name, see abbot.
abbé Look up abbé at Dictionary.com
1530, title given in France to "every one who wears an ecclesiastical dress," especially one having no assigned ecclesiastical duty, from Fr., from L.L. abbatem, acc. of abbas (see abbot).
abbess Look up abbess at Dictionary.com
1297, abbese, from O.Fr. abbesse, from L.L. abbatissa, fem. of abbas (see abbot).
abbey Look up abbey at Dictionary.com
1250, "convent headed by an abbot or abbess," from Anglo-Fr. abbeie, from O.Fr. abaie, from L.L. abbatia, from abbas (gen. abbatis); see abbot.
abbot Look up abbot at Dictionary.com
O.E. abbud, from L. abbatem (nom. abbas), from Gk. abbas, from Aramaic abba, title of honor, lit. "the father, my father," emphatic state of abh "father." The L. fem. abbatissa is root of abbess.
abbreviation Look up abbreviation at Dictionary.com
1460, from M.Fr. abréviation, from L.L. abbreviationem (nom. abbreviatio), from pp. of abbreviare "make brief," from L. ad "to" + breviare "shorten," from brevis "short, low, little, shallow" (see brief (adj.)).
Abderian laughter Look up Abderian laughter at Dictionary.com
from Abdera, in Thrace, whose citizens were considered rustic simpletons who would laugh at anything or anyone they didn't understand (making their town the Hellenic equivalent of Gotham).
abdicate Look up abdicate at Dictionary.com
1541, "to disown, disinherit (children)," from L. abdicatus, pp. of abdicare "disown, disinherit" (specifically abdicare magistratu "renounce office"), from ab- "away" + dicare "proclaim," from stem of dicere "to speak, to say" (see diction). Meaning "divest oneself of office" first recorded 1618.
abdomen Look up abdomen at Dictionary.com
1541, "belly fat," from L., "belly," originally "lower belly," perhaps from abdere "conceal," with a sense of "concealment of the viscera," or else "what is concealed" by proper dress. Purely anatomical sense is from 1615. Biological sense of "posterior division of the bodies of arthropods" first recorded 1788.
abduct Look up abduct at Dictionary.com
"to kidnap," 1834, altered from abduce "to draw away" by persuasion (1537), from L. abducere "lead away," from ab- "away" + ducere "to lead" (see duke). Abduction is first recorded 1626 in lit. sense of "a leading away;" the illegal activity so called from 1768. In the Mercian hymns, L. abductione is glossed by O.E. wiðlaednisse.

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