A- (3) prefix meaning "not," from Gk a-, an- "not," from pie base *ne "not" (see un-)

agitprop --- 1930s, from Rus. agitatsiya "agitation," from Fr. agitation (see agitation) + propaganda, from Ger. (see propaganda).

Aglaia --- one of the Graces, from Gk., lit. "splendor, beauty, brightness," from aglaos "splendid, beautiful, bright," of unknown origin.

aglow --- 1817, from a- (1) + glow (q.v.). Fig. sense of "flushed with pleasurable excitement" is from 1834. Both senses first recorded in writings of Coleridge.

Agnes --- fem. proper name, 1160, from O.Fr., from Gk. Hagne "pure, chaste," from fem. of hagnos "holy." St. Agnes, martyred 303 C.E., is patron saint of young girls, hence the folk connection of St. Agnes' Eve (Jan. 20-21) with love divinations.

agnostic --- 1870, "one who professes that the existence of a First Cause and the essential nature of things are not and cannot be known." Coined by T.H. Huxley from Gk. agnostos "unknown, unknowable," from a- "not" + gnostos "(to be) known" (see gnostic). Sometimes said to be a reference to Paul's mention of the altar to "the Unknown God," but according to Huxley it was coined with ref. to the early Church movement known as Gnosticism (see Gnostic). "I ... invented what I conceived to be the appropriate title of 'agnostic,' ... antithetic to the 'Gnostic' of Church history who professed to know so much about the very things of which I was ignorant." [T.H. Huxley, "Science and Christian Tradition," 1889] The adj. is first recorded 1873.

ago --- c.1314, shortened form of O.E. agan, agone "departed, passed away," pp. of an obs. verb formed from a- "away" (perhaps here used as an intensive prefix) + gan "go." Agone remains a dial. variant.

agog --- c.1400, from O.Fr. en gogues "in jest, good humor, joyfulness," from gogue "fun," of unknown origin.

agony --- 1382, "mental suffering" (esp. that of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane), from L.L. agonia, from Gk. agonia "a (mental) struggle for victory," originally "a struggle for victory in the games," from agon "assembly for a contest," from agein "to lead" (see act). Sense of "extreme bodily suffering" first recorded 1607. Agonize (1583) was originally transitive as well as intrans., and sometimes meant "to torture."

agoraphobia --- fear of open spaces, 1873, from Ger. Agorophobie, coined by psychiatrist Carl Westphal, 1871, from Gk. agora "open space" (typically a marketplace), from ageirein "to assemble," + -phobia "fear."

agrarian --- 1618, "relating to the land," from M.Fr. loy agrarienne "agrarian law," from L. Lex agraria, the Roman law for the division of conquered lands, from agrarius "of the land," from ager (gen. agri) "a field," from PIE *agros (cf. Gk. agros "field," Goth. akrs, O.E. æcer "field;" see acre). Meaning "having to do with cultivated land" first recorded 1792.

agree --- c.1374, from O.Fr. agreer, from phrase a gré "favorably, of good will," lit. "to (one's) liking," from L. ad "to" + gratum "pleasing," neut. of gratus (see grace); the original sense surviving best in agreeable (c.1384).

agriculture --- 1603, from L. agricultura, compound of agri cultura "cultivation of land," from agri, gen. of ager "a field" (see acre) + cultura "cultivation" (see culture). First record of agribusiness is from 1955.

agronomy --- 1814, from Fr. agronomie, from Gk. agros "field" (see acre) + -nomos "law or custom, administering," related to nemein "manage."

aground --- 1297, from a- "on" (see a- (1)) + ground.

ague --- 1377, from O.Fr. ague "an acute fever," from M.L. (febris) acuta "sharp (fever)," fem. of acutus "sharp" (see acute).

ah --- from M.E. a (c.1440), an expression of surprise, delight, disgust or pain in nearly all I.E. languages, but not found in O.E. (where the equivalent expression was la!), so perhaps from O.Fr.

aha --- exclamation of surprise or delighted discovery, c.1386, from ah + ha. "They crieden out! ... A ha the fox! and after him thay ran." [Chaucer]

ahead --- 1628, "at the head, in front," from a- "on" (see a- (1)) + head.

ahem --- attention-getting interj., 1763, lengthened from hem, imitative of clearing the throat.

ahistoric --- not historical, lacking in historical background or justification, 1937, from a- (2) "not" + historic.

-aholic --- abstracted from alcoholic first in sugarholic (1965), later in workaholic (1968), golfaholic (1971), chocoholic (1976), and shopaholic (1984).

ahoy --- 1751, from a + hoy, a nautical call used in hauling.

aid (n.) --- 1475, "help, assistance," from O.Fr. aide, earlier aiudha, from L.L. adjuta, from fem. pp. of L. adiuvare (pp. adiutus) "to give help to," from ad- "to" + juvare "to help," of unknown origin. The verb is 1483, from O.Fr. aidier, from L. adjutare, freq. of adiuvare. Meaning "thing by which assistance is given" is recorded from 1597. Meaning "material help given by one country to another" is from 1940.

aid (v.) --- 1483, from O.Fr. aidier, from L. adjutare, freq. of adjuvare (pp. adjutus) "give help to," from ad- "to" + juvare "to help," of unknown origin.

aide --- 1777, short for aide-de-camp (1670), from Fr., lit. "camp assistant."

AIDS --- 1982, acronym formed from acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

aiglet --- metal tag of a lace, meant to make it easier to thread through the eyelet-holes, but later merely ornamental, 1440, from M.Fr. aiguillette, dim. of aiguille "needle," from L.L. acucula, itself a dim. of L. acus "needle" (see acuity).

aikido --- Japanese art of self-defense, lit. "way of adapting the spirit," from Jap. ai "together" + ki "spirit" + do "way, art," from Chinese tao "way."

ail --- O.E. eglian "to trouble, plague, afflict," from P.Gmc. *azljaz (cf. O.E. egle "hideous, loathsome, troublesome, painful;" Goth. agls "shameful, disgraceful," agliþa "distress, affliction, hardship," us-agljan "to oppress, afflict"), from PIE *agh-lo-, suffixed form of base *agh- "to be depressed, be afraid." Ailment formed in Eng. 1706.

ailanthus --- tree of heaven, 1807, Mod.L., from Amboyna ailanto "tree of the gods;" spelling alt. by infl. of Gk. anthos "flower" (see anther).

aileron --- 1909, from Fr. aileron, altered (by influence of aile "wing"), from O.Fr. aleron, dim. of ele "wing," from L. ala "wing."

ailurophobia --- morbid fear of cats, 1905, from Gk. -phobia "fear" + ailouros "cat," of unknown origin. Folk etymology connects it with aiolos "quick-moving" + oura "tail."

aim --- 1330, "to estimate, calculate," from O.Fr. esmar, from L. aestimare "appraise" (see estimation); current meaning apparently developed from "esteem," through "calculate with a view to action" (c.1400), then "calculate the direction of a missile" (1573).

ain't --- 1706, originally a contraction of am not, and in proper use with that sense until it began to be used as a generic contraction for are not, is not, etc., in early 19c. Cockney dialect of London, popularized by representations of this in Dickens, etc., which led to the word being banished from correct English.

Ainu --- people native to northern Japan and far eastern Russia, 1819, from Ainu, lit. "man, human." Once considered to be Caucasian based on their appearance, DNA testing has dispelled this. Their language is an isolate with no known relatives.

air (1) --- c.1300, "invisible gases that make up the atmosphere," from O.Fr. air, from L. ærem (nom. ær), from Gk. aer (gen. æros) "air" (related to aenai "to blow, breathe"), of unknown origin, possibly from a base *awer- and thus related to aeirein "to raise" and arteria "windpipe, artery" (see aorta), on notion of "lifting, that which rises." In Homer mostly "thick air, mist;" later "air" as one of the four elements. Words for "air" in Indo-European languages tend to be associated with wind, brightness, sky. Replaced native lyft, luft (see loft). The verb meaning "to expose to open air" is first recorded 1530. Broadcasting sense (e.g. on the air) first recorded 1927. Air-conditioning first attested 1909, originally an industrial process; main modern use in residences and office buildings is from 1930s. Air-freshener first attested 1949. Air-tight "impervious to air" is from 1760; fig. sense of "incontrovertible" (of arguments, alabis, etc.) is from 1929. Airmail is from 1913; airport first attested 1919; Airhead "empty-headed person" first recorded 1972. Airily is from 1766. To give (someone) the air "dismiss" is from 1900.

air (2) --- assumed manner, affected appearance, 1660 (esp. in phrase put on airs, 1781), perhaps via Fr. air, from L. ager "place, field" (see acre) on notion of "place of origin." Air in the sense of "manner, appearance" (e.g. an air of mystery) is attested in Eng. from 1596, an independent adoption of Fr. air, which had acquired this sense.

air (3) --- melody, tune, 1590, from It. aria (see aria).

air force --- 1917, from air + force, first attested with creation of the Royal Air Force. There was no United States Air Force until after World War II. The Air Corps was an arm of the U.S. Army. In 1942, the War Department reorganized it and renamed it Army Air Forces. The National Security Act of 1947 created the Department of the Air Force, headed by a Secretary of the Air Force, and the U.S.A.F.

airedale --- type of terrier, 1880, named for Airedale, a district in West Riding, Yorkshire.

airplane --- 1907, from air + plane; though the original references are British, the word caught on in Amer.Eng., where it largely superseding earlier aeroplane (1873, and still common in British Eng.; q.v.). Aircraft is also from 1907; airship is 1888, from Ger. Luftschiff "motor-driver dirigible." Air-raid first attested 1914, in ref. to British attacks on Cologne and Dusseldorf in WWI.

aisle --- c.1370, ele, from O.Fr. ele "wing" (of a church), from L. ala, related to axilla "wing, upper arm, armpit," from PIE *aks- "axis" (see axis), via a suffixed form *aks-la-. The root meaning in "turning" connects it with axle and axis. Confused 15c. with unrelated ile "island" (perhaps from notion of a "detached" part of a church), and so it took an -s- when isle did, c.1700; by 1750 it had acquired an a-, on the model of Fr. cognate aile. The word also was confused with alley, which gave it the sense of "passage between rows of pews or seats" (1731), which was then extended to railway cars, theaters, etc.

ajar --- 1718, perhaps from Scottish dialectal a char "slightly open," earlier on char (early 16c.), from M.E. char, from O.E. cier "a turn."

Ajax --- name of two Gk. heroes in the Trojan War (Great Ajax, son of Telamon, and Little Ajax, son of Oileus), L., from Gk. Aias, probably originally the name of an earth-god, from aia "earth."

akimbo --- c.1400, in kenebowe, perhaps from phrase in keen bow "at a sharp angle," or from a Scand. word akin to Icelandic kengboginn "bow-bent." Many languages use a teapot metaphor for this, such as Fr. faire le pot a deux anses "to play the pot with two handles."

akin --- 1558, from phrase of kin.

Akkadian --- 1855, from Akkad (Sumerian Agde, Biblical Acca), name of city founded by Sargon I in northern Babylonia, of unknown origin; applied by modern scholars to the east Sem. language spoken there (c.2300-2100 B.C.E.) and preserved in cuneiform inscriptions.

al dente --- 1935, from It., lit. "to the tooth."

al fresco --- 1753, from It., lit. "in the fresh (air)." The It. al represents a contraction of words from L. ad "to" + ille "that." Alfresco also meant "painted on plaster that was still fresh or moist" (1764; see fresco).

al Qaida --- also Al-Qaeda, name of a loosely structured jihadist movement founded c.1989 by Osama bin Laden; from Arabic, lit. "the base." A common Arabic term among Muslim radicals from the wider Islamic world who came to Afghanistan in 1980s and fought alongside local rebels against the Soviets, and who regarded themselves and their struggle not merely in Afghan terms but as the "base" or foundation of a wider jihad and revival in Islam. Used by Bin Laden's mentor, Abdallah Azzam (1941-1989), who refered to the "vanguard" which "constitutes the strong foundation [al-qaida al-sulbah] for the expected society." In U.S., the term first turns up in a CIA report in 1996.

Alabama --- created and named as a U.S. territory 1817 by a division of Mississippi Territory; ultimately named for one of the native peoples who lived there, who speak Muskogean. Their name probably is from a Choctaw term meaning "plant-cutters."

alabaster --- a translucent whitish kind of gypsum used for vases, ornaments, and busts, 1375, from O.Fr. alabastre, from L. alabaster "colored rock used to make boxes and vessels for unguents," from Gk. alabast(r)os "vase for perfumes," probably from Egypt. 'a-labaste "vessel of the goddess Bast." Used figuratively for whiteness and smoothness from 1580.

alack --- 1480, from ah, lack, from lack (q.v.) in M.E. sense of "loss, failure, reproach, shame." Originally an expression of dissatisfaction, later of regret or surprise.

alacrity --- c.1510, from L. alacritatem (nom. alacritas) "liveliness," from alacer (gen. alacris) "cheerful, brisk, lively;" cognate with Goth. aljan "zeal," O.E. ellen, O.H.G. ellian.

Aladdin --- name of a hero in stories from the Arabian Nights, from Arabic Ala' al Din, lit. "nobility of faith."

Alamo --- nickname of Franciscan Mission San Antonio de Valeroin (begun 1718, dissolved 1793) in San Antonio, Texas; Amer.Sp., lit. "poplar" (in New Spain, also "cottonwood"), from alno "the black poplar," from L. alnus "alder." Perhaps so called in reference to trees growing nearby (cf. Alamogordo, New Mexico, lit. "big poplar," and Sp. alameda "a public walk with a row of trees on each side"); but the popular name seems to date from the period 1803-13, when the old mission was the base for a Spanish cavalry company from the Mexican town of Alamo de Parras in Nueva Vizcaya.

Alan/Allen --- masc. proper name, 1066, from O.Bret. Alan, name of a popular Welsh and Breton saint, brought to England by the large contingent of Bretons who fought alongside William the Conqueror.

Alaric --- Visigothic masc. proper name, lit. "all-ruler," from P.Gmc. *ala- "all" + *rikja "rule."

alarm --- c.1325, from O.Fr. alarme, from It. all'arme "to arms!" (lit. "to the arms"). An interj. that came to be used as the name of the call or warning. Extended 16c. to "any sound to warn of danger or to arouse." Weakened sense of "apprehension, unease" is from 1833. Variant alarum is due to the rolling -r- in the vocalized form. The verb is 1590, from the noun. Alarmist "one addicted to sounding alarms" is from 1793.

alas --- c.1260, from O.Fr. ha, las (later Fr. hélas), from ha "ah" + las "unfortunate," originally "tired, weary," from L. lassus "weary," originally an expression of weariness rather than woe.

Alaska --- name first applied 18c. by Russian explorers, from Aleut alaxsxaq, lit. "the object toward which the action of the sea is directed." [Bright]

Alastor --- in Gk. tradition, son of Neleus, brother of Nestor, sometimes used figuratively in sense of "an avenging spirit;" the name is from priv. prefix a- "not" + root of lathein "to forget."

alb --- O.E. albe, from L.L. alba (in tunica alba or vestis alba "white vestment"), fem. of albus "white," from PIE base *albho- "white" (cf. Gk. alphos "white leprosy," alphiton "barley meal;" O.H.G. albig, O.E. elfet "swan," lit. "the white bird;" O.C.S., Rus. lebedi, Pol. labedz "swan").

albacore --- 1579, "large variety of tuna," from Port. albacora, from Arabic al bakara pl. of buko "young camel, heifer," the fish so called for its size.

Albania --- M.L. name of the country called by its inhabitants Shqipnija, from Medieval Gk. Albania.

albatross --- 1672, probably from Sp./Port. alcatraz "pelican," perhaps derived from Arabic al-ghattas "sea eagle;" or from Port. alcatruz "the bucket of a water wheel," from Arabic al-qadus "machine for drawing water, jar" (from Gk. kados "jar"), in reference to the pelican's pouch (cf. Arabic saqqa "pelican," lit. "water carrier"). Either way, the spelling was influenced by L. albus "white." The name extended, through some mistake, by Eng. sailors to a larger sea-bird (order Tubinares). Albatrosses considered good luck by sailors; fig. sense of "burden" (1936) is from Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (1798) about the bad luck of a sailor who shoots an albatross and then is forced to wear its corpse as an indication that he, not the whole ship, offended against the bird. The prison-island of Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay is named for pelicans that roosted there.

albedo --- ratio of light reflected from a surface, 1859, from L., lit. "whiteness," from albus "white" (see alb).

albeit --- c.1385, a contraction of al be it "al(though) it be."

Albert --- masc. proper name, from Ger. (the Fr. form is Aubert), from O.H.G. Adalbert, cognate of O.E. Æþelbeorht "Noble-bright," sometimes metathesized as Æþelbriht, hence the surname Albright.

Alberta --- Canadian province, founded in 1882 and named for Princess Louise Caroline Alberta (1848-1939), fourth daughter of Queen Victoria, wife of the governor general, John Douglas Sutherland Campbell, Marquess of Lorne. She was named for her father, Prince Albert.

Albigensian --- 1604, "relating to the Albigenses," Catharist religious reformers of southern France c.1020-1250, M.L., from Fr. Albi, name of a town in Languedoc where they lived and were first condemned as heretics (1176).

albino --- 1777, from Sp. or Port. albino, from L. albus "white" (see alb). Used by Portuguese of white-spotted African negroes. Extended 1859 to animals having the same peculiarity.

Albion --- ancient name of England, O.E., from L., sometimes said to be from the non-I.E. base *alb "mountain," which may have produced L. Alpes "Alps" and Alba, an Ir. name for "Scotland." But more likely from L. albus "white" (see alb), which would be an apt description of the chalk cliffs of the island's southern coast. "Breoton is garsecges ealond, ðæt wæs iu geara Albion haten." [translation of Bede's "Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum," c.900 C.E.] Perfidious Albion translates Fr. rhetorical phrase la perfide Albion, said to have been in use since 16c., but popularized by Napoleon I in the recruiting drive of 1813, a ref. to the treacherous policies of Britain in dealing with foreign powers.

album --- 1651, from L. neut. of albus "white" (see alb). In classical times "a blank tablet on which the prætor's edicts and other public matters were inscribed." Revived 16c. by custom of German scholars to keep an album amicorum of colleagues' signatures, meaning then expanded into "book to collect souvenirs." According to Johnson, "a book in which foreigners have long been accustomed to insert autographs of celebrated people." Photographic albums first recorded 1859. Meaning "long-playing gramophone record" is from 1957, because the sleeves they came in resembled large albums.

albumen --- 1599, "white of an egg," from L. albumen "white of an egg," lit. "whiteness," from albus "white" (see alb). The organic substance (which exists nearly pure in egg whites) so called from 1800, also known as albumin (1869, from Fr. albumine).

Albuquerque --- city in New Mexico, U.S., founded 1706 and named for Sp. administrator and viceroy of Mexico Francisco Fernández de la Cueva, Duque de Alburquerque (1617-1676); name alt. by assoc. with Port. soldier Alfonso de Albuquerque (1453-1515), both named from Alburquerque, a town in Spain close to the Portuguese border whose name means "white oak," ult. from L. albus "white" and quercus "oak."

Alcestis --- wife of Admetus, she offered her life for her husband and was rescued from the Underworld by Herakles, from Gk. Alkestis, lit. "valiant, courageous," from alke "protection, help, strength, power."

alchemy --- 1362, from O.Fr. alkemie, from M.L. alkimia, from Arabic al-kimiya, from Gk. khemeioa (found c.300 C.E. in a decree of Diocletian against "the old writings of the Egyptians"), all meaning "alchemy." Perhaps from an old name for Egypt (Khemia, lit. "land of black earth," found in Plutarch), or from Gk. khymatos "that which is poured out," from khein "to pour," related to khymos "juice, sap." The word seems to have elements of both origins. "Mahn ... concludes, after an elaborate investigation, that Gr. khymeia was probably the original, being first applied to pharmaceutical chemistry, which was chiefly concerned with juices or infusions of plants; that the pursuits of the Alexandrian alchemists were a subsequent development of chemical study, and that the notoriety of these may have caused the name of the art to be popularly associated with the ancient name of Egypt." [OED] The al- is the Arabic definite article, "the." The art and the name adopted by the Arabs from Alexandrians and thence returned to Europe via Spain. Alchemy was the "chemistry" of the Middle Ages and early modern times, since c.1600 applied distinctively to the pursuit of the transmutation of baser metals into gold, which, along with the search for the universal solvent and the panacea, were the chief occupations of early chemistry.

alcohol --- 1543, "fine powder produced by sublimination," from M.L. alcohol "powdered ore of antimony," from Arabic al-kuhul "kohl," the fine metallic powder used to darken the eyelids, from kahala "to stain, paint." The al- is the Arabic definite article, "the." "Powdered cosmetic" was the earliest sense in Eng.; definition broadened 1672 to "any subliminated substance, the pure spirit of anything." Modern sense of "intoxicating ingredient in strong liquor" is first recorded 1753, short for alcohol of wine, which was extended to "the intoxicating element in fermented liquors." In organic chemistry, the word was extended 1850 to the class of compounds of the same type as this. Alcoholism "disease of alcohol addiction" is from 1852; alcoholic "one who is addicted to drinking in excess" is from 1891. Alcoholics Anonymous founded 1935 in Akron, Ohio, U.S. Alky is first recorded 1844 as a slang shortening of "alcoholic liquor;" 1960 in the sense of "a drunkard."

Alcoran --- older form of Koran, 1366, from O.Fr. alcoran, from Arabic al-quran "the Koran" (see Koran).

alcove --- 1676, "vaulted recess," from Fr. alcôve, from Sp. alcoba, from Arabic al-qobbah "the vaulted chamber," from Sem. base q-b-b "to be bent, crooked, vaulted."

Aldebaran --- bright star in Taurus, 16c., from Arabic Al Dabaran "the follower" (of the Pleiades, which rise shortly before it does), from dabara "he followed."

alder --- tree related to the birch, O.E. alor (with intrusive -d- added 14c.; the historical form aller survived until 18c. in literary Eng. and persists in dialects, e.g. Lancashire owler, partly from O.N.), from P.Gmc. *aliso (cf. O.N. ölr, Dan. elle, Swed. al, Du. els, Ger. erle), from the ancient PIE name of the tree (cf. Rus. olicha, Pol. olcha, L. alnus, Lith. alksnis).

alderman --- O.E. aldormonn (Mercian), ealdormann (W.Saxon), from aldor, ealder "patriarch" (comparative of ald "old") + monn, mann "man." A relic of the days when the elders were automatically in charge of the clan or tribe, but already in O.E. used for king's viceroys, regardless of age. The word yielded in O.E. to eorl, and after the Norman Conquest to count (n.). Meaning "headman of a guild" (1130) passed to "magistrate of a city" (c.1200) as the guilds became identified with municipal government.

Aldine --- type font, 1837, from Aldus Manutius (1450-1515), Venetian printer who used it in his popular editions of Gk. and Roman classics. His name is a L. form of It. Aldo Manuzio, short for Teobaldo. The device characteristic of Aldine books is a figure of a dolphin on an anchor.

ale --- O.E. ealu "ale, beer," from P.Gmc. *aluth- (cf. O.S. alo, O.N. öl), perhaps from PIE root meaning "bitter" (cf. L. alumen "alum"), or from PIE *alu-t "ale," from base *alu-, a word with connotations of "sorcery, magic, possession, intoxication." The word was borrowed from Gmc. into Lith. (alus) and O.C.S. (olu). Ale and beer were synonymous until growing of hops began in England early 15c. "[A]t present 'beer' is in the trade the generic name for all malt liquors, 'ale' being specifically applied to the paler coloured kinds, the malt for which has not been roasted or burnt; but the popular application of the two words varies in different localities." [OED] Meaning "festival or merry-meeting at which much ale was drunk" was in O.E. (see bridal). An alehouse (O.E. eala-huse) "is distinguished from a tavern, where they sell wine" [Johnson]. Alewife, a herring-like fish of N.America (1633) named for M.E. word for female tavern keepers, so called in ref. to its large abdomen.