Online Etymology Dictionary

Asclepius: god of medicine, Latin, from Greek Asklepios, of unknown origin.
ascorbic (adj.): 1933 (in ascorbic acid), from a- (2) + scorb(ut)ic "of scurvy" (from Medieval Latin scorbuticus "scurvy"); originally in reference to Vitamin C, which is an anti-scorbutic. The Latin word is perhaps of German or Dutch origin.
Ascot: village near Windsor, Berkshire; site of fashionable race-meeting. Used attributively for clothes suitable for the event; especially a type of tie (1908). The town name is literally "eastern cottage."
ascribable (adj.): 1670s, from ascribe + -able. Related: Ascribably; ascribability.
ascribe (v.): mid-14c., ascrive, from Old French ascrivre "to inscribe; attribute, impute," from Latin ascribere "to write in, to add to in a writing," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + scribere "to write" (see script). Spelling restored by 16c. Related: Ascribed; ascribing.
ascription (n.): 1590s, "action of adding in writing;" c.1600, "attribution of authorship or origin," from Latin ascriptionem (nominative ascriptio) "an addition in writing," noun of action from past participle stem of ascribere (see ascribe).
ascus (n.): "sac in certain fungi," 1830, Modern Latin, from Greek askos "leather bag, wine skin," of unknown origin.
asea (adj.): 1858, from a- (1) "on" + sea.
ASEAN: initialism for Association of South-East Asian Nations, formed 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand; since expanded to 10 nations.
aseismic (n.): "resistant to earthquake destruction," 1884, from a- (2) "not" + seismic.
aseity (n.): "being by itself," 1690s, from Medieval Latin aseitas "state of being by itself," from Latin a "from" + se "oneself" (see suicide).
asepsis (n.): 1892, from a- (2) "not" + sepsis.
aseptic (adj.): 1859, from a- (2) "not" + septic. As a noun from 1884.
asexual (adj.): 1830, as a term in biology, a hybrid from a- (2) "not" + sexual. In general contexts, attested from 1896.
asexuality (n.): 1877; see asexual + -ity.
asexually (adv.): 1862; see asexual + -ly (2).
Asgard (n.): home of the gods in Norse religion, from Old Norse ass "god," from Proto-Germanic *ansu- (cf. Old High German ansi, Old English os, Gothic ans "god"), from PIE *ansu- "spirit" (cf. first element in Ahura Mazda, from Avestan) + Old Norse garðr "enclosure, yard, garden" (see yard (n.1)).
ash (n.1): "powdery remains of fire," Old English æsce "ash," from Proto-Germanic *askon (cf. Old Norse and Swedish aska, Old High German asca, German asche, Gothic azgo "ashes"), from PIE root *as- "to burn, glow" (cf. Sanskrit asah "ashes, dust," Armenian azazem "I dry up," Greek azein "to dry up, parch," Latin ardus "parched, dry"). Spanish and Portuguese ascua "red-hot coal" are Germanic loan-words.

Symbol of grief or repentance; hence Ash Wednesday (c.1300), from custom introduced by Pope Gregory the Great of sprinkling ashes on the heads of penitents on the first day of Lent. Ashes meaning "mortal remains of a person" is late 13c., in reference to the ancient custom of cremation.
ash (n.2): type of tree, Old English æsc "ash tree," also "spear made of ash wood," from Proto-Germanic *askaz, *askiz (cf. Old Norse askr, Old Saxon ask, Middle Dutch esce, German Esche), from PIE root *os- "ash tree" (cf. Armenian haci "ash tree," Albanian ah "beech," Greek oxya "beech," Latin ornus "wild mountain ash," Russian jasen, Lithuanian uosis "ash"). Ash was the preferred wood for spear-shafts, so Old English æsc sometimes meant "spear" (cf. æsc-here "company armed with spears").
ashamed (adj.): Old English asceamed "feeling shame, filled with shame," past participle of ascamian "to feel shame," from a- intensive prefix + scamian "to put to shame" (see shame (v.)). The verb is obsolete, but the past participle lives on. Meaning "reluctant through fear of shame" is c.1300.
Ashanti: 1705, Asiantines, one of the Akan people of central Ghana; native name.
ashen (adj.): "made of ash wood," c.1300; see ash (n.2) + -en (2); meaning "ash-colored, whitish-gray, deadly pale" is 1808, from ash (n.1).
Asher: masc. proper name, biblical son of Jacob (also the name of a tribe descended from him), from Hebrew, literally "happy."
asherah (n.): 1863, wooden pillar used as symbol of Canaanite goddess Ashera, of unknown origin.
Ashkenazim (n.): (plural) "central and northern European Jews" (as opposed to Sephardim, Jews of Spain and Portugal), 1839, from Hebrew Ashkenazzim, plural of Ashkenaz, eldest son of Gomer (Gen. x:3), also the name of a people mentioned in Jer. li:27 (perhaps akin to Greek skythoi "Scythians," cf. Akkadian ishkuzai); identified historically with various people; in Middle Ages, with the Germans.
ashlar (n.): late 14c., "square stone for building or paving," from Old French aiseler, from Latin axillaris, from axilla, diminutive of axis "board, plank," which is perhaps not the same axis that means "axle." The stone sense is peculiar to English.
Ashley: fem. proper name, all but unknown before c.1965; one of the most popular names for girls born in U.S. from c.1980; evidently inspired by the surname Ashley, Ashleigh (attested from 12c.), which means "clearing among the ash trees," from Old English æsc + leah (see ash (n.2) + lea).
ashore (adv.): 1580s, "toward the shore," from a- (1) + shore (n.). Meaning "on the shore" is from 1630s. Middle English had ashore (late 15c.), but it meant "on a slant," literally "propped up," from shore (v.).
ashram (n.): "religious hermitage," 1917, from Sanskrit asramah, from a-, adnomial prefix, + sramah "effort, toll, fatigue."
ashtray (n.): 1857 as a receptacle for smokers' ashes, from ash (n.1) + tray.
Ashura (n.): Islamic fast on the 10th day of Muharram, Arabic Ashura', literally "tenth."
ashy (adj.): late 14c., from ash (n.1) + -y (2).
Asia: c.1300, from Latin Asia, from Greek Asia, speculated to be from Akkadian asu "to go out, to rise," in reference to the sun, thus "the land of the sunrise."
Asiago: type of Italian cheese, by 1922, named for town of Asiago (German Schlägen) in the Veneto region of Italy.
Asian (n.): late 14c., "inhabitant of Asia (Minor)," from Latin Asianus (adjective and noun, "belonging to the province of Asia;" "an inhabitant of Asia"), from Greek Asianos, from Asia (see Asia). Ousted Asiatic as the preferred term in Britain c.1950.
The term "Asiatic" has come to be regarded with disfavour by those to whom it is applied, and they feel entitled to be brought into line with usage in regard to Europeans, Americans and Australians. ["Times Literary Supplement," Feb. 6, 1953]
As an adjective in English, by 1690s.
Asiatic (adj.): 1630s, from Latin Asiaticus (surname of Latin Corn. Scipio), from Greek Asiatikos, from Asia (see Asia; also cf. Asian). As a noun, by 1763. In ancient Rome, Asiatici oratores was florid and overly ornate prose.
aside (adv.): c.1300, "off to one side;" mid-14c., "to or from the side;" late 14c., "away or apart from others, out of the way," from a- (1) + side (n.). Noun sense of "words spoken so as to be (supposed) inaudible" is from 1727. Middle English had asidely "on the side, indirectly" (early 15c.) and asideward "sideways, horizontal" (late 14c.).
asine (n.): 1530s, "she-ass," from French asine, from Latin asina (see ass (n.1)).
asinine (adj.): c.1600, "obstinate, stupid," from Latin asininus "stupid," literally "like an ass," from asinus "ass," also "dolt, blockhead" (see ass (n.1)). The literal sense in English is recorded from 1620s.
ask (v.): Old English ascian "ask, call for an answer; make a request," from earlier ahsian, from Proto-Germanic *aiskojan (cf. Old Saxon escon, Old Frisian askia "request, demand, ask," Middle Dutch eiscen, Dutch eisen "to ask, demand," Old High German eiscon "to ask (a question)," German heischen "to ask, demand"), from PIE *ais- "to wish, desire" (cf. Sanskrit icchati "seeks, desires," Armenian aic "investigation," Old Church Slavonic iskati "to seek," Lithuanian ieškau "to seek").

Form in English influenced by a Scandinavian form of the word (cf. Danish æske; the Old English would have evolved by normal sound changes into ash, esh, which was a Midlands and s.w. England dialect form). Modern dialectal ax is as old as Old English acsian and was an accepted literary variant until c.1600. Related: Asked; asking. Old English also had fregnan/frignan which carried more directly the sense of "question, inquire," and is from PIE root *prek-, the common source of words for "ask" in most Indo-European languages (see pray). If you ask me "in my opinion" is attested from 1910. Asking price is attested from 1755.
askance (adv.): 1520s, "sideways, asquint," of obscure origin. OED has separate listings for askance and obsolete Middle English askance(s) and no indication of a connection, but Barnhart and others derive the newer word from the older one. The Middle English word, recorded early 14c. as ase quances and found later in Chaucer, meant "in such a way that; even as; as if;" and as an adverb "insincerely, deceptively." It has been analyzed as a compound of as and Old French quanses (pronounced "kanses") "how if," from Latin quam "how" + si "if."
The E[nglish] as is, accordingly, redundant, and merely added by way of partial explanation. The M.E. askances means "as if" in other passages, but here means, "as if it were," i.e. "possibly," "perhaps"; as said above. Sometimes the final s is dropped .... [Walter W. Skeat, glossary to Chaucer's "Man of Law's Tale," 1894]
Also see discussion in Leo Spitzer, "Anglo-French Etymologies," Philological Quarterly 24.23 (1945), and see OED entry for askance (adv.) for discussion of the mysterious ask- word cluster in English. Other guesses about the origin of askance include Old French a escone, from past participle of a word for "hidden;" Italian a scancio "obliquely, slantingly;" or that it is a cognate of askew.
askew (adv.): 1570s, of uncertain etymology; perhaps literally "on skew" (see skew), or from the Old Norse form, a ska. Earlier askoye is attested in the same sense (early 15c.).
aslant (adv.): early 14c., o-slant, literally "on slant," from on + slant (v.). As a preposition from c.1600.
asleep (adj.): c.1200, aslepe, o slæpe, from Old English on slæpe (see sleep). The parallel form on sleep continued until c.1550. Of limbs, from late 14c. Meaning "inattentive, off guard" is from mid-14c.
Asmodeus: evil spirit, prince of demons, from Latin Asmodaeus, from Greek Asmodaios, from Talmudic Hebrew Ashmeday, from Avestan Aeshma-dæva, "Aeshma the deceitful," from aeshma "anger," daeva- "spirit, demon."
asocial (adj.): 1883, "antagonistic to society or social order," from a- "not" + social (adj.); also cf. antisocial.
asp (n.): poisonous snake, 1520s, earlier aspis (mid-14c.), from Old French aspe (13c.) or directly from Latin aspidem (nominative aspis), from Greek aspis "shield;" the serpent so called probably in reference to its neck hood.
asparagus (n.): late Old English sparage, from Latin asparagus (in Medieval Latin often sparagus), from Greek asparagos, of uncertain origin; probably from PIE root *sp(h)er(e)g- "to spring up" (though perhaps from a non-Greek source). In Middle English, asperages sometimes was regarded as a plural, with false singular aspergy.

By 16c. the word had been anglicized as far as sperach, sperage. It was respelled by c.1600 to conform with classical Latin, but then folk-etymologized formation sparrowgrass arose 17c., persisting into 19c., during which time asparagus had "an air of stiffness and pedantry" [John Walker, "Critical Pronouncing Dictionary," 1791]. Known in Old English as eorðnafela.
aspartame (n.): commercial name of an artificial sweetener, 1973, from aspartic acid (1836), formed irregularly from asparagine (1813), a compound found in asparagus, beet-root, etc., from asparagus + chemical suffix -ine (2). The reason for -ame is unknown.
Aspasia: beautiful and capable Milesian consort of Pericles, proper name from fem. of Greek aspasios "welcome," related to aspazesthai "to welcome," of uncertain origin.