Online Etymology Dictionary

abdominals (n.): short for "abdominal muscles," attested by 1980; see abdominal.
abduce (v.): "to draw away" by persuasion, 1530s, from Latin abductus, past participle of abducere "to lead away" (see abduction). Related: Abduced; abducing.
abducent (adj.): 1713, from Latin abducentem (nominative abducens), present participle of abducere "to lead away" (see abduction).
abduct (v.): "to kidnap," 1834, probably a back-formation from abduction; cf. abduce. Related: Abducted; abducting.
abduction (n.): 1620s, "a leading away," from Latin abductionem (nominative abductio), noun of action from past participle stem of abducere "to lead away, take away" (often by force), from ab- "away" (see ab-) + ducere "to lead" (see duke (n.)). The illegal activity so called from 1768; before that the word also was a term in surgery and logic. In the Mercian hymns, Latin abductione is glossed by Old English wiðlaednisse.
abeam (adv.): "at right angles to the keel," c.1836, nautical, literally "on beam;" see a- (1) + beam (n.).
abecedary (n.): "primer, alphabet table," mid-15c., from Medieval Latin abecedarium "an ABC book," neuter of adjective abecedarius, used as a noun, from the first four letters of the Latin alphabet. Abecedarian (adj.) is attested from 1660s.
abed (adv.): Old English on bedde "in bed," from a- (1) + bed (n.). As one word from 17c.
Abel: masc. proper name, in Old Testament, second son of Adam and Eve, from Hebrew Hebhel, literally "breath," also "vanity."
Abenaki: Algonquian-speaking Indians of northern New England and the Maritimes, 1721, from French abenaqui, from East Abenaki wapanahki, literally "person of the dawn land."
aberrant (adj.): 1798, originally in natural history, from Latin aberrantem (nominative aberrans), present participle of aberrare "to wander away, go astray" (see aberration).
aberration (n.): 1590s, "a wandering, straying," from Latin aberrationem (nominative aberratio) "a wandering," noun of action from past participle stem of aberrare "to wander out of the way, lose the way, go astray," from ab- "away" (see ab-) + errare "to wander" (see err). Meaning "deviation from the normal type" first attested 1846.
abet (v.): late 14c. (implied in abetting), from Old French abeter "to bait, to harass with dogs," literally "to cause to bite," from a- "to" (see ad-) + beter "to bait," from a Germanic source, perhaps Low Franconian betan "incite," or Old Norse beita "cause to bite," from Proto-Germanic *baitjan, from PIE root *bheid- "to split" (see fissure). Related: Abetted; abetting.
abeyance (n.): 1520s, from Anglo-French abeiance "suspension," also "expectation (especially in a lawsuit)," from Old French abeance "aspiration, desire," noun of condition of abeer "aspire after, gape" from à "at" (see ad-) + ba(y)er "be open," from Latin *batare "to yawn, gape" (see abash).

Originally in French a legal term, "condition of a person in expectation or hope of receiving property;" it turned around in English law to mean "condition of property temporarily without an owner" (1650s). Root baer is also the source of English bay (n.2) "recessed space," as in "bay window."
abhor (v.): mid-15c., from Latin abhorrere "shrink back from, have an aversion for, shudder at," from ab- "away" (see ab-) + horrere "tremble at, shudder," literally "to bristle, be shaggy," from PIE *ghers- "start out, stand out, rise to a point, bristle" (see horror). Related: Abhorred; abhorring.
abhorrence (n.): 1650s; see abhorrent + -ence.
abhorrent (adj.): 1610s, "in a position or condition to recoil," usually with from; from Latin abhorentem (nominative abhorrens), present participle of abhorrere; see abhor. Meaning "repugnant" is from 1650s. Earlier was abhorrable (late 15c.).
abidance (n.): 1640s, from abide + -ance.
abide (v.): Old English abidan, gebidan "remain, wait, delay, remain behind," from ge- completive prefix (denoting onward motion; see a- (1)) + bidan "bide, remain, wait, dwell" (see bide). Originally intransitive (with genitive of the object: we abidon his "we waited for him"); transitive sense emerged in Middle English. Meaning "to put up with" (now usually negative) first recorded 1520s. Related: Abided; abiding. The historical conjugation is abide, abode, abidden, but the modern formation is now generally weak.
abiding (adj.): late 14c., "enduring," present participle adjective from abide (v.).
Abigail: fem. proper name, in Old Testament, Abigail the Carmelitess, a wife of David, from Hebrew Abhigayil, literally "my father is rejoicing," from abh "father" + gil "to rejoice." Used in general sense of "lady's maid" (1660s) from character of that name in Beaumont & Fletcher's "The Scornful Lady." The waiting maid association perhaps begins with I Sam. xxv, where David's wife often calls herself a "handmaid." Her male counterpart was Andrew.
ability (n.): late 14c., from Old French ableté "expert at handling (something)," from Latin habilitatem (nominative habilitas) "aptitude," noun of quality from habilis "easy to manage, handy" (see able). One case where a Latin silent -h- failed to make a return in English (despite efforts of 16c.-17c. scholars); see H.
abiotic (adj.): "without life," 1870, from a- (3) + biotic.
Abitur (n.): German final secondary school exam, 1863, short for abiturium, from Modern Latin abitorire "to wish to leave," desiderative of Latin abire (neuter plural abitum) "to go away," from ab- "away" (see ab-) + ire "to go" (see ion).
abject (adj.): early 15c., "cast off, rejected," from Latin abjectus, past participle of abicere "to throw away, cast off; degrade, humble, lower," from ab- "away, off" (see ab-) + iacere "to throw" (past participle iactus; see jet (v.)). Figurative sense of "downcast, brought low" first attested 1510s. Related: Abjectly; abjectness.
abjection (n.): early 15c., from Old French abjection (14c.), from Latin abjectionem (nominative abjectio) "dejection, despondency," literally "a throwing away," noun of action from past participle stem of abicere (see abject).
abjuration (n.): mid-15c., from Latin abjurationem (nominative abjuratio) "a denying on oath," noun of action from past participle stem of abjurare (see abjure).
abjure (v.): early 15c., from Middle French abjurer or directly from Latin abiurare "deny on oath," from ab- "away" (see ab-) + iurare "to swear," related to ius (genitive iuris) "law" (see jurist). Related: Abjured; abjuring.
ablation (n.): early 15c., from Latin ablationem (nominative ablatio), "a taking away," noun of action from past participle stem of auferre "to carry away," from ab- "off" (see ab-) + ferre (past participle latum; see oblate) "to bear."
ablative (n.): mid-15c., from Middle French ablatif, from Latin (casus) ablativus "(case) of removal," expressing direction from a place or time, coined by Julius Caesar from ablatus "taken away," past participle of auferre "carrying away," from ab- "away" (see ab-) + irregular verb ferre (past participle latum; see oblate) "to carry, to bear" (see infer).
ablaut (n.): "systematic vowel alteration in the root of a word to indicate shades of meaning or tense," a characteristic of Indo-European languages, 1849, from German Ablaut, literally "off-sound," coined by J.P. Zweigel in 1568 from ab "off" + Laut "sound, tone," from Old High German hlut (see listen). Popularized by Jacob Grimm.
ablaze (adv.): late 14c., from a "on" (see a- (1)) + blaze.
able (adj.): early 14c., from Old French (h)able (14c.), from Latin habilem, habilis "easily handled, apt," verbal adjective from habere "to hold" (see habit). "Easy to be held," hence "fit for a purpose." The silent h- was dropped in English and resisted academic attempts to restore it 16c.-17c., but some derivatives acquired it (e.g. habiliment, habilitate), via French.
Able-whackets - A popular sea-game with cards, in which the loser is beaten over the palms of the hands with a handkerchief tightly twisted like a rope. Very popular with horny-fisted sailors. [Smyth, "Sailor's Word-Book," 1867]
able-bodied (adj.): 1620s; see able + body.
ablution (n.): "ritual washing," late 14c., from Latin ablutionem (nominative ablutio), noun of action from past participle stem of abluere "to wash off," from ab- "off" (see ab-) + luere "wash," related to lavere (see lave).
ABM (n.): 1963, initialism for anti-ballistic missile.
abnegate (v.): 1650s, from Latin abnegatus, past participle of abnegare "to refuse, deny" (see abnegation). Related: Abnegated; abnegating.
abnegation (n.): late 14c., "a negative assertion," c.1500 as "self-denial," from Latin abnegationem (nominative abnegatio) "refusal, denial," noun of action from past participle stem of abnegare "to refuse, deny," from ab- "off, away from" (see ab-) + negare "to deny" (see deny).
Abner: masc. proper name, name of Saul's commander in the Old Testament, from Hebrew Abhner, literally "my father is light," from abh "father" + ner "light."
abnormal (adj.): 1835, displaced older abnormous (1742) and rival anormal (1835) under influence of Latin abnormis "deviating from a rule," from ab- "off, away from" (see ab-) + norma "rule" (see norm). The older forms were via Old French anormal (13c.), from Medieval Latin anormalos, from Greek anomalos, from an- "not" + homalos, from homos "same." The Greek word was altered in Latin by association with norma. Related: Abnormally.
abnormality (n.): "quality of being abnormal," 1854; "abnormal feature or quality," 1859, from abnormal + -ity. Earlier as abnormity (1731).
aboard (adv.): late 14c., probably in most cases from Old French à bord, from à "on" + bord "board," from Frankish *bord or a similar Germanic source (see board (n.2)); the "boarding" or sides of a vessel extended to the ship itself. The usual Middle English expression was within shippes borde. The call all aboard! as a warning to passengers is attested from 1838.
abode (n.): mid-13c., "action of waiting," verbal noun identical with Old English abad, past participle of abiden "to abide" (see abide), used as a verbal noun. The present-to-preterite vowel change is consistent with an Old English class I strong verb (ride/rode, etc.). Meaning "habitual residence" is first attested 1570s.
abolish (v.): mid-15c., from Middle French aboliss-, present participle stem of abolir "to abolish" (15c.), from Latin abolere "destroy, cause to die out, retard the growth of," perhaps from ab- "from" (see ab-) + adolere "to grow," from PIE *ol-eye-, causative of root *al- "to grow, nourish" (see old), and perhaps formed as an antonym to adolere. But the Latin word rather could be from a root in common with Greek ollymi, apollymi "destroy." Tucker writes that there has been a confusion of forms in Latin, based on similar roots, one meaning "to grow," the other "to destroy." Application to persons and concrete objects has long been obsolete. Related: Abolished; abolishing.
abolition (n.): 1520s, from Middle French abolition or directly from Latin abolitionem (nominative abolitio) "an abolition," noun of action from past participle stem of abolere "destroy" (see abolish). Specific application to "opposition to the black slave trade as a political question" is first attested 1788.
abolitionism (n.): 1790, in the anti-slavery sense, from abolition + -ism.
abolitionist (n.): 1795, from abolition + -ist. In Britain, applied 20c. to advocates of ending capital punishment.
abominable (adj.): mid-14c., from Old French abominable (12c.) and directly from Late Latin abominabilis "deserving abhorrence," from stem of Latin abominari "deplore as an evil omen" (see abomination). Sometimes misdivided in earlier centuries as a bominable. Also often abhominable 14c.-17c. Related: Abominably.
abominable snowman (n.): 1921, translating Tibetan meetaoh kangmi.
abominate (v.): 1640s, back-formation from abomination or from Latin abominatus, past participle of abominari (see abomination). Related: Abominated; abominating.