abeyance
abeyance (n.)1520s, from Anglo-French abeiance \\\"suspension,\\\" also \\\"expectation (especially...
abhor
abhorabhor: [15] Abhor comes from Latin abhorrēre, which literally meant ‘shrink back in terror’ (fr...
abhorrent
abhorrent (adj.)1610s, \\\"in a position or condition to recoil,\\\" usually with from; from Latin a...
abide
abideabide: see bideabide (v.)Old English abidan, gebidan \\\"remain, wait, delay, remain behind,\\\...
abiding
abiding (adj.)late 14c., \\\"enduring,\\\" present participle adjective from abide (v.).
...
ability
ability (n.)late 14c., from Old French ableté \\\"expert at handling (something),\\\" from Latin hab...
abject
abject (adj.)early 15c., \\\"cast off, rejected,\\\" from Latin abiectus, past participle of abicere...
abjure
abjure (v.)early 15c., from Middle French abjurer or directly from Latin abiurare \\\"deny on oath,\...
ablaze
ablaze (adv.)late 14c., from a \\\"on\\\" (see a- (1)) + blaze (n.)....
able
ableable: [14] Able and ability both come ultimately from the Latin verb habēre ‘have’ or ‘hold’. Fr...
ablution
ablutionablution: see lavatoryablution (n.)\\\"ritual washing,\\\" late 14c., from Latin ablutionem...
abnegate
abnegate (v.)1650s, from Latin abnegatus, past participle of abnegare \\\"to refuse, deny\\\" (see a...
abnegation
abnegation (n.)late 14c., \\\"a negative assertion,\\\" c. 1500 as \\\"self-denial,\\\" from Latin a...
abnormal
abnormal (adj.)1835, displaced older abnormous (1742) and rival anormal (1835) under influence of La...
abnormality
abnormality (n.)\\\"quality of being abnormal,\\\" 1854; \\\"abnormal feature or quality,\\\" 1859,...
aboard
aboard (adv.)late 14c., probably in most cases from Old French à bord, from à \\\"on\\\" + bord \\\"...
abode
abodeabode: see bideabode (n.)mid-13c., \\\"action of waiting,\\\" verbal noun identical with Old En...
abolish
abolish (v.)mid-15c., from Middle French aboliss-, present participle stem of abolir \\\"to abolish\...
abolition
abolition (n.)1520s, from Middle French abolition or directly from Latin abolitionem (nominative abo...
abolitionist
abolitionist (n.)1792, originally in reference to the slave trade, from abolition + -ist. In Britain...
abominable
abominableabominable: [14] The Latin original of this word meant ‘shun as an evil omen’. The prefix...
abominate
abominate (v.)1640s, back-formation from abomination or from Latin abominatus, past participle of ab...
aboriginal
aboriginal (adj.)1660s, \\\"first, earliest,\\\" especially in reference to inhabitants of lands col...
aborigine
aborigine (n.)1858, mistaken singular of aborigines (1540s; the correct singular is aboriginal), fro...
abort
abortabort: see originabort (v.)1570s, \\\"to miscarry,\\\" from Latin abortus, past participle of a...
abortion
abortion (n.)1540s, originally of both deliberate and unintended miscarriages; from Latin abortionem...
abortive
abortive (adj.)late 14c., \\\"born prematurely or dead,\\\" from Latin abortivus \\\"pertaining to m...
abound
aboundabound: [14] Abound has no connection with bind or bound. Its Latin source means literally ‘ov...
about
aboutabout: [OE] About in Old English times meant ‘around the outside of’; it did not develop its co...
above
aboveabove: [OE] As in the case of about, the a- in above represents on and the -b- element represen...
aboveboard
aboveboard (adj.)1610s, from above and board (n.1). \\\"A figurative expression borrowed from gamest...
abrade
abrade (v.)1670s, from Latin abradere \\\"to scrape off\\\" (see abrasion). Related: Abraded; abradi...
Abraham
Abrahammasc. proper name, name of the first of the patriarchs in the Old Testament, from Hebrew Abra...
abrasion
abrasion (n.)1650s, from Medieval Latin abrasionem (nominative abrasio) \\\"a scraping,\\\" noun of...
abrasive
abrasive (n.)\\\"an abrasive substance,\\\" 1853, from abrasive (adj.).abrasive (adj.)1805, from Lat...
abreast
abreast (adv.)mid-15c., on brest, from a- (1) + breast (n.); the notion is of \\\"with breasts in li...
abridge
abridgeabridge: see briefabridge (v.)c. 1300, abreggen, \\\"to make shorter, to condense,\\\" from O...
abridgement
abridgement (n.)late 15c., from Old French abregement \\\"shortening, abbreviation,\\\" from abregie...
abroad
abroadabroad: [13] It was only in the 15th century that abroad came to mean ‘in foreign parts’. Earl...
abrogate
abrogate (v.)1520s, from Latin abrogatus, past participle of abrogare \\\"to annul, repeal (a law),\...
abrogation
abrogation (n.)1530s, from Latin abrogationem (nominative abrogatio) \\\"repeal of a law,\\\" noun o...
abrupt
abrupt (adj.)1580s, from Latin abruptus \\\"broken off, precipitous, disconnected,\\\" past particip...