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

adversity --- c.1230, aduersite, from O.Fr. aversite, from L. adversitatem "opposition," from adversus (see adverse).

advertise --- c.1430, "to take notice of," from M.Fr. advertiss-, prp. stem of a(d)vertir "to warn," from L. advertere "turn toward," from ad- "toward" + vertere "to turn" see versus). Original sense remains in advert "to give attention to." Sense of advertise shifted to "give notice to others, warn" (1490) by influence of advertisement, which meant "public notice (of anything, but often of a sale)" by c.1460. The modern, commercial meaning was fully developed by 18c.

advice --- 1297, auys, from O.Fr. avis "opinion," from O.Fr. ce m'est à vis "it seems to me," or from V.L. *mi est visum "in my view," ult. from L. ad- "to" + visum, neut. pp. of videre "to see" (see vision). The unhistoric -d- was introduced in Eng. 15c., on model of L. words in ad-. Substitution of -c- for -s- is 18c., to preserve the breath sound and to distinguish from advise.

advise --- 1297, avisen, from O.Fr. aviser, from avis (see advice). The verb preserves the older spelling. Advisory "weather warning" first recorded 1931.

advocate --- 1340, "one whose profession is to plead cases in a court of justice," a technical term from Roman law, from O.Fr. avocat, from L. advocatus, orig. pp. of advocare "to call" (as witness or advisor) from ad- "to" + vocare "call," related to vocem (see voice). The verb is first attested 1641.

adze --- O.E. adesa "adze, hatchet," of unknown origin, perhaps somehow related to O.Fr. aisse, L. ascia.

Aegean --- sea between Greece and Asia Minor, 1573, traditionally named for Aegeus, father of Theseus, who threw himself to his death in it when he thought his son had perished; but perhaps from Gk. aiges "waves," a word of unknown origin.

aegis --- protection, 1793, from L. ægis, from Gk. Aigis, the shield of Zeus, said by Herodotus to be related to aix (gen. aigos) "goat," from PIE *aig- "goat" (cf. Skt. ajah, Lith. ozys "he-goat"), as the shield was of goatskin. Athene's aigis was a short goat-skin cloak, covered with scales, set with a gorgon's head, and fringed with snakes.

Aeneas --- hero of the "Æneid," son of Anchises and Aphrodite, L., from Gk. Aineias, perhaps lit. "praise-worthy," from ainos "tale, story, saying, praise" (related to enigma).

Æolian --- 1605, "of the wind," from L. Æolus "god of the winds," from Gk. Aiolos, from aiolos "quickly moving." Æolian harp first recorded 1791. The ancient district of Aiolis in Asia Minor was said to have been named for the wind god, hence Æolian also refers to one branch of the ancient Gk. people.

aeon --- 1647, from L. aeon, from Gk. aion "age, eternity" (see eon).

aerate --- 1794, from L. ær (gen. æris) "air," from Gk. aer (see air (1)).

aerial (adj.) --- 1604, from L. ærius "airy," from Gk. aerios, from aer "air." The noun is 1902 (short for aerial antenna, etc.).

aerie --- eagle's nest, 1581 (attested in Anglo-L. from 1224), from O.Fr. aire, from L.L. area "nest of a bird of prey," perhaps from L. area "level ground, garden bed," though some doubt this. Another theory connects it to atrium. Formerly misspelled eyrie (1664) on the mistaken assumption that it derived from M.E. ey "egg."

aerobic --- living only in the presence of oxygen, 1884, (after Fr. aérobie, coined 1863 by Louis Pasteur) from Gk. aero- "air" (combining form) + bios "life" (see bio-). Aerobics, method of exercise and a fad in early 1980s, is Amer.Eng., coined 1968 by Kenneth H. Cooper, U.S. physician, from the notion of activities which require modest oxygen intake and thus can be maintained.

aerodynamics --- 1837, from Gk. aero- "air" (comb. form) + dynamics (q.v.). Probably modeled on Fr. aérodynamique or Ger. aerodynamische.

aeronautics --- 1824, from aeronautic (1784), from Fr. aéronautique, from aéro- (from Gk. aer "air") + nautique "of ships," from L. nauticus, from Gk. nautikos. Originally of balloons.

aeroplane --- 1866, from Fr. aéroplane (1855), from Gk. aero- "air" + stem of planer "to soar" (see plane (1)). Originally in ref. to surfaces (such as the protective shell casings of beetles' wings); meaning "heavier than air flying machine" first attested 1873, probably an independent Eng. coinage (see airplane).

aerosol --- 1923, from Gk. aero- "air" (combining form) + solution. A term in physics, modern commercial application is from 1940s.

aerospace --- 1958, Amer.Eng., from aero- "atmosphere" + (outer) space.

Aesir --- chief gods of Scand. religion, from O.N. pl. of ass "god," related to O.E. os, Goth. ans "god" (see Oswald).

aesthetic --- 1798, from Ger. ästhetisch or Fr. esthétique, both from Gk. aisthetikos "sensitive," from aisthanesthai "to perceive, to feel," from PIE *awis-dh-yo-, from base *au- "to perceive." Popularized in Eng. by translation of Immanuel Kant, and used originally in the classically correct sense "the science which treats of the conditions of sensuous perception." Kant had tried to correct the term after Baumgarten had taken it in Ger. to mean "criticism of taste" (1750s), but Baumgarten's sense attained popularity in Eng. c.1830s (despite scholarly resistance) and removed the word from any philosophical base. Walter Pater used it (1868) to describe the late 19c. movement that advocated "art for art's sake," which further blurred the sense. Aesthete first recorded 1881.

æt. --- aged, abbreviation of L. ætatis "of the age of," gen. sing. of ætas "age."

afanc --- cattle-devouring aquatic monster in Celtic countries, from Celt. *abankos "water-creature," from *ab- "water" (cf. Welsh afon, Breton aven "river," L. amnis "stream, river," which is of Italo-Celtic origin).

afar --- M.E. of feor (c.1175), on ferr (c.1300), from O.E. feor "far," the a- representing both of and on compounds (which meant the same thing). Spelled afer in 14c.

afeared --- O.E. afæred, pp. of now-obsolete afear "to terrify." Used by Shakespeare, but supplanted in literary Eng. after 1700 by afraid (q.v.). It still survives in popular and colloquial speech.

affable --- c.1475 (implied in affability), from O.Fr., from L. affabilis "kind, friendly," lit. "he who can be easily spoken to," from affari "to speak to," from ad- "to" + fari "to speak" (see fame).

affair --- c.1300, "what one has to do," from Anglo-Norm. afere, from O.Fr. afaire, from the infinitive phrase à faire "to do" (from L. ad "to" + facere "to do, make;" see factitious). A Northern word originally, brought into general use and given a Fr. spelling by Caxton (15c.). General sense of "vague proceedings" (in romance, war, etc.) first attested 1702. Affairs "ordinary business" first attested 1484.

affect (n.) --- c.1374, "mental state," from L. affectus, pp. of afficere "act on, have influence on," a verb of broad meaning, from ad- "to" + facere (pp. factus) "do" (see factitious). The verb meaning "to make an impression on" is attested from 1631.

affect (v.) --- to make a pretense of, 1661, earlier "to assume the character of (someone)" (1591); originally in Eng. "to aim at, aspire to, make for" (1483), from M.Fr. affecter (15c.), from L. affectare "to strive after, aim at," freq. of afficere (pp. affectus) "to do something to, act on" (see affect (n.)).

affectation --- 1548, "studied display," from L. affectationem (nom. affectatio), from affectare "to strive for" (see affect (v.)).

affection --- c.1230, "an emotion of the mind, passion, lust as opposed to reason," from O.Fr. affection, from L. affectionem (nom affectio) "inclination, influence, permanent state of feeling," from affec-, stem of afficere "to do something to, act on" (see affect (n.)). Sense developed from "disposition" to "good disposition toward" (1382). Affectionate in the sense of "loving" is from 1586.

affidavit --- 1593, from M.L. affidavit, lit. "he has stated on oath," third person sing. perf. of affidare "to trust," from L. ad- "to" + fidare "to trust," from fidus "faithful," from fides "faith" (see faith). So called from being the first word of sworn statements.

affiliation --- 1751, "adoption," from Fr. affiliation, from M.L. affiliationem (nom. affiliatio), from L. affiliatus, pp. of affiliare "to adopt a son," from L. ad- "to" + filius "son" (see filial). Fig. sense of "adoption by a society, of branches" first recorded 1799 (affiliate in this sense is from 1761).

affinity --- 1303, "relation by mariage" (as opposed to consanguinity), from O.Fr. afinité, from L. affinitatem (nom. affinitas) "neighborhood, relationship by marriage," from affinis "adjacent," also "kin by marriage," lit. "bordering on," from ad- "to" + finis "a border, an end." Used figuratively since c.1600 of structural relationships in chemistry, philology, etc. Meaning "natural attraction" (as though by family) is from 1616.

affirm --- 1330, from O.Fr. afermer, from L. affirmare "to make steady, strengthen, corroborate," from ad- "to" + firmare "strengthen, make firm," from firmus "strong" (see firm (adj.)). Spelling refashioned 16c. on L. model. Affirmation in law, the Quaker alternative to oath-taking, is attested from 1695. Affirmative "answering yes" is from c,1400, from use in logic; affirmative action "positive effort by employers to prevent discrimination against minority groups in hiring or promotion" is from 1935; now often used more generally for policies such as hiring quotas.

affix --- 1533, from M.L. affixare, freq. of L. affigere (pp. affixus) "fasten to," from ad- "to" + figere "fasten" (see fix). First used by Scottish writers and perhaps from M.Fr. affixer, a temporarily re-Latinized spelling of O.Fr. afichier (modern Fr. afficher).

afflatus --- miraculous communication of supernatural knowledge, 1665, from L. afflatus "a breathing upon, blast," from pp. stem of afflare "to blow upon," from ad- "to" + flare "to blow" (see blow (v.1)).

afflict --- 1393, "to cast down," from O.Fr. afflicter, from L. afflictare "to damage, harass, torment," freq. of affligere (pp. afflictus) "to dash down, overthrow," from ad- "to" + fligere (pp. flictus) "to strike," from PIE base *bhlig- "to strike" (cf. Gk. phlibein "to press, crush," Czech blizna "scar," Welsh blif "catapult"). Transf. meaning of "trouble, distress," is first recorded 1535; affliction "grief, distress, misery" is recorded from 1485.

affluent --- 1432, "flowing," from L. affluentem (nom. affluens), prp. of affluere "flow toward," from ad- "to" + fluere "to flow" (see fluent). Notion of "a plentiful flow" (of the gifts of fortune) led to affluence in the sense of "wealth," first recorded 1603.

afford --- O.E. geforðian "to advance," from ge- completive prefix (see a- (1)) + forðian "to further," from forð "forward, onward." Change of -th- to -d- was 16c. (and also transformed burthen and murther into their modern forms). Prefix shift to af- took place 16c. under mistaken belief that it was a L. word in ad-. Notion of "accomplish" (late O.E.) gradually became "manage to buy or maintain; have enough money (to do something)" (1833). Older sense is preserved in afford (one) an opportunity.

affray (n.) --- 1303, "state of alarm produced by a sudden disturbance," from O.Fr. effrei "disturbance, fright," from Gallo-Romance *exfridare, lit. "to take out of peace," from L. ex- "out of" + Frank. *frithu "peace," from P.Gmc. *frithuz "consideration, forbearance," from PIE base *pri- "to be friendly, love" (cf. O.C.S. prijati "to aid, help," Skt. prija- "beloved"). Meaning "breach of the peace, riotous fight in public" is from 1482. Related verb afrey (1314) survives almost exclusively in its pp., afraid (q.v.).

affright --- 1589, a late construction from a- (1) + fright (v.), probably on model of earlier pp. adj. affright "struck with sudden fear" (O.E. afyrht).

affront (v.) --- c.1315, from O.Fr. afronter "to face, confront," lit. "to strike on the forehead," from L.L. affrontare "to strike against," from L. ad frontem "to the face," from frons (gen. frontis) "forehead." The noun is 1598, from the verb.

Afghan --- name of the people of Afghanistan, technically only correctly applied to the Durani Afghans; Old Afghan chronicles trace the name to an Afghana, son of Jeremiah, sone of Israelite King Saul, from whom they claimed descent, but this is a legend. The name is first attested in Arabic in al-'Utbi's "History of Sultan Mahmud" written c.1030 C.E. and was in use in India from 13c. Attested from 1833 as a type of blanket or wrap (in full, Afghan shawl); 1973 as a style of sheepskin coat; 1877 as a type of carpet; 1895 as a breed of hunting dog.

aficionado --- 1845, from Sp., "amateur," spec. "devotee of bullfighting," lit. "fond of," from aficion "affection," from L. affectionem (see affection).

afield --- 1591, from O.E. on felda, M.E. in felde, from a- "on" (see a- (1)) + field (q.v.).

afire --- 1205, afure, from a- "on" (see a- (1)) + fire (q.v.).

aflame --- 1555, from a- "on" (see a- (1)) + flame (q.v.).

afloat --- O.E. aflote, from a- "on" (see a- (1)) + float (q.v.).

afoot --- 1205, afote, from a- "on" (see a- (1)) + foot (q.v.). Fig. sense of "in active operation" is 1601 (first recorded in Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar").

afore --- O.E. onforan, from phrase on foran, from on (prep) + foran (adv.) "in front," dative of for (q.v.). In some cases probably it represents O.E. ætforan "at-fore." Once the literary equivalent of before, now it has mostly been replaced by that word except in nautical use and in combinations such as aforesaid (1418) and aforethought (1581), which apparently is a loan-translation of O.Fr. legal word prepense in malice prepense "malice aforethought" (Coke).

afoul --- entangled, 1809, originally nautical, now mainly in phrase to run afoul of; from a- (1) + foul.

afraid --- 1330, originally pp. of afray "frighten," from Anglo-Fr. afrayer, from O.Fr. esfreer (see affray (n.)). A rare case of an adjective that never stands before a noun. Because it was used in A.V. Bible, it acquired independent standing and thrived while affray faded, chasing out the once more common afeard (q.v.). Sense in I'm afraid "I regret to say, I suspect" (without implication of fear) is first recorded 1596. "Her blue affrayed eyes wide open shone" [Keats, "The Eve of St. Agnes," 1820]

A-frame --- type of framework shaped like the letter A, 1909; in building construction, attested from 1932.

afresh --- 1509, perhaps on analogy of anew, from a- (1) + fresh.

Africa --- L. Africa (terra) "African land," fem. of Africus, from Afer "an African." Originally only in ref. to the region around Tunesia, it gradually was extended to the whole continent. Derivation from Arabic afar "dust, earth" is tempting, but the early date seems to argue against it. Africanas "Africans" was in O.E. There are isolated instances of African-American from at least 1863 (Afro-American is attested from 1853), but the modern use is a re-invention first attested 1969 (in reference to the African-American Teachers Association) which became the preferred term in some circles for "U.S. black" (n. or adj.) by the late 1980s.

Afrikander --- 1822, "South African native of Du. descent," from Du. Afrikaner "African," with intrusive -d- on analogy of Hollander, Englander, etc. Afrikaans "the Du. language as spoken in S.Africa" is attested from 1900, from Du. Afrikaansch.

Afro --- full, bushy hairstyle as worn by some blacks, 1938, from Afro-, comb. form of African. As a general adj. for black styles of clothing, music, etc., it is attested from 1966.

aft --- O.E. æftan "behind, farthest back," from superl. of O.E. æf, af, of "off," from P.Gmc. *af-, from PIE root *apo- "off, away" (cf. Goth. aftana "from behind;" see apo-). Now purely nautical.

after --- O.E. æfter "after, next, following in time," from O.E. of "off" (see apo-) + -ter a comparative suffix; thus originally meaning "more away, farther off." After hours "after regular working hours" is from 1861. Afterglow first attested 1873; aftershock is from 1894; after-life first recorded 1593; afterthought is from 1661. A combination that ought to have survived is after-wit "wisdom that comes too late" (1579).

afterbirth --- 1587, from after + birth.

aftermath --- 1523, originally a second crop of grass grown after the first had been harvested. The -math is dialectal, from O.E. mæð "mowing," from P.Gmc. *mæthan. Figurative sense is from mid-17c.

afternoon --- c.1300, from after + noon (q.v.). In 15c.-16c., the form was at afternoon; from c.1600 till now it has been in the afternoon.

afterward --- O.E. æftanweard, from æftan "after" + -weard suffix indicating direction ("-ward"), nautical use as aftward, then expanded by infl. of after; variant afterwards (c.1300) shows adverbial genitive.

aga --- title of rank, especially in Turkey, 1600, from Turk. agha "chief, master, lord," related to E.Turk. agha "elder brother."

again --- O.E. ongean "toward, opposite, against," from on "on" + -gegn "against, toward," for a sense of "lined up facing, opposite," and "in the opposite direction, returning." For -gegn, cf. O.N. gegn "straight, direct," Dan. igen "against," O.Fris. jen, O.H.G. gegin, Ger. gegen "against, toward," Ger. entgegen "against, in opposition to." In O.E., eft was the main word for "again," but this often was strengthened by ongean, which became the principal word by 13c. Norse influence is responsible for the hard -g-. Differentiated from against 16c. in southern writers, again becoming an adverb only, and against took over as prep. and conjunction, but again clung to all senses in northern and Scottish dialect.

against --- c.1130, agenes "in opposition to," a southern variant of agen "again" (see again), with adverbial genitive and a parasitic -t that turned up c.1350.

Agamemnon --- king of Mycenae, leader of the Greeks in the Trojan War, his name perhaps represents Gk. Aga-medmon, lit. "ruling mightily," from agan "very much" + medon "ruler."

agape --- 1607, from Gk. agapan "greet with affection, love" (used by early Christians for their "love feast" held in connection with the Lord's Supper), from agapan "to love," of unknown origin. In modern use, often in simpler sense of "Christian love" (1856, frequently opposed to eros as "carnal or sensual love").

agate --- 1570, from M.Fr. agathe, from O.Fr. acate, from L. achates, from Gk. achates, the name of a river in Sicily where the stones were found. But the river could as easily be named for the stone. The earlier Eng. form of the word, achate (1230), was directly from Latin. Figurative sense of "a diminutive person" (1597) is from the now-obsolete meaning "small figures cut in agates for seals," preserved in typographer's agate (1838), the U.S. name of the 5.5-point font called in Great Britain ruby. Meaning "toy marble made of glass resembling agate" is from 1843 (colloquially called an aggie).

Agatha --- fem. proper name, from L., from Gk. Agathe, fem. of agathos "good," of unknown origin.

agave --- American aloe plant, 1797, from L. Agave, from Gk. Agaue, proper name in mythology (mother of Pentheus), from agauos "noble," perhaps from agasthai "wonder at," from gaiein "to rejoice, exult," with intensive prefix a-. The name seems to have been taken generically by botanists, the plant perhaps so called for its "stately" flower stem.

-age --- 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.

age --- 1297, "long but indefinite period in human history," from O.Fr. aage, from V.L. *ætaticum (cf. Sp. edad, It. eta), from L. ætatem (nom. ætas), "period of life," from ævum "lifetime, eternity, age," from PIE base *aiw- "vital force, life, long life, eternity" (see eon). Meaning "time something has lived, particular length or stage of life" is from c.1315. Used especially for "old age" since c.1330. Expelled native eld. The verb meaning "to grow old" is from 1398. Ageism "discrimination against people based on age" was coined 1969 by U.S. gerontologist Robert N. Butler, on pattern of racism, sexism.

agency --- 1658, "acting of an agent," from M.L. agentia, noun of state from L. agentem (nom. agens, gen. agentis), prp. of agere (see act). Meaning "establishment where business is done for another" first recorded 1861.

agenda --- 1657, from L., lit. "things to be done," from neut. pl. of agendum, gerundive of agere (see act). Originally theological (opposed to matters of belief), sense of "items of business to be done at a meeting" first attested 1882.

agent --- 1471, "one who acts," from L. agentem (nom. agens, gen. agentis), prp. of agere "to set in motion, drive, lead, conduct" (see act). Meaning "any natural force or substance which produces a phenomenon" is first recorded 1579.

Agent Orange --- powerful defoliant used by U.S. military in the Vietnam War, c.1970, so called from the color strip on the side of the container, which distinguished it from Agent Blue, Agent Purple, Agent White, etc., other herbicides used by the U.S. military. Banned from April 1970.

agglomerate --- 1684, from L. agglomeratus, pp. of agglomerare "to wind or add onto a ball," from ad- "to" + glomerare "wind up in a ball," from glomus (gen. glomeris) "ball of yarn," from PIE root *glem-.

agglutination --- 1541, from L. agglutinationem, noun of action from agglutinare (pp. agglutinatus) "fasten with glue," from ad- "to" + glutinare "to glue," from gluten "glue," from PIE *glei- (see glue). Philological sense first recorded 1652, in agglutinative.

aggrandize --- 1634, from Fr. agrandiss-, prp. stem of agrandir "to augment," from O.Fr. à "to" + grandir "to increase," from L. grandire "to make great," from grandis (see great). The double -g- spelling is by false analogy with L. words in ad-.

aggravation --- 1481, from O.Fr. aggravation, from L.L. aggravationem (nom. aggravatio), noun of action from L. aggravare (pp. aggravatus) "make heavier," from ad- "to" + gravare "weigh down," from gravis "heavy" (see grave (adj.)). Oldest sense is "increasing in gravity or seriousness;" that of "irritation" is from 1611.

aggregate --- c.1400, from L. aggregatus "associated," lit. "united in a flock," pp. of aggregare "add to," from ad- "to" + gregare "herd," so "to lead to a flock" (see gregarious).

aggression --- 1611, "unprovoked attack," from verb aggress "to approach, to start an argument" (c.1575), from Fr. aggresser, from L.L. aggressare, freq. of L. aggredi (pp. aggressus) "to approach, attack," from ad- "to" + gradi (pp. gressus) "to step," from gradus "a step" (see grade). Psychological sense of "hostile or destructive behavior" first recorded 1912 in A.A. Brill's transl. of Freud. Aggressive first recorded 1824.

aggrieve --- 1330, from O.Fr. agrever "bear heavily on," from L. aggravare "make heavier" (see aggravation). Aggrieved in the legal sense of "injured or wronged in one's rights" is from 1590.

aghast --- c.1260, agast, "terrified," pp. of M.E. agasten "to frighten," from a- intensive prefix + O.E. gæstan "to terrify," from gæst "spirit, ghost," The -gh- spelling appeared c.1425 in Scottish and is possibly a Flemish influence, or after ghost, etc. It became general after 1700.

agility --- 1413, from M.Fr. agilité (14c.), from L. agilitatem (nom. agilitas) "mobility, nimbleness, quickness," from agilis, from agere "to move" (see act).

agitation --- 1569, "mental tossing to and fro," from L. agitationem (nom. agitatio) "motion, agitation," from agitatus, pp. of agitare "move to and fro," frequentative of agere in its sense of "to drive" (see act).

agitator --- 1647, from agitation (q.v.), originally "elected representatives of the common soldiers in Cromwell's army," who brought grievances (chiefly over lack of pay) to their officers and Parliament. Political sense is first recorded 1734, and negative overtones began with its association with Irish patriots such as Daniel O'Connell (1775-1847). In Amer.Eng., usually with outside and referring to people who stir up a supposedly contented class or race.