Word origins

• AitneOne of the moons of Jupiter.
• akathistA hymn dedicated to a saint, holy event, or person of the Holy Trinity, in Eastern Christian traditions.
• akousmaA rule or precept, especially one of the list of rules laid down by Pythagoras.
• AkragasAn ancient Greek colony on the south coast of Sicily, at the site of modern Agrigento.
• alabanditeA mineral form of manganese sulfide, MnS, sometimes found in meteorites
• alalagmosA war cry of Ancient Greece.
• alceAn elk.
• alopekisA Thracian cap made from a fox scalp.
• alytarchAn official responsible for maintaining order at the ancient Olympic Games.
• AmaseiaSynonym of Amasya (in antiquity)
• ampelo-vine or grape
• amphiblestroidesThe retina.
• amphiboliaAmbiguity in writing; amphiboly.
• amphictyonicOf or relating to the amphictyons or their League or Council.
• amphidOne of a pair of chemosensory sense organs positioned laterally on the head of a nematode.
• AmphidamasVarious characters in Greek mythology. See Wikipedia.
• amphidromiaIn Ancient Greece, a ceremonial feast celebrated on the fifth or seventh day after the birth of a child.
• amphoreusAn Ancient Greek unit of liquid measure reckoned as equivalent to about 9 gallons.
• ampyxA woman's headband (sometimes of metal), for binding the front hair in Ancient Greece.
• AmyclasA mythical king of Sparta.
• anabibazonThe ascending lunar node, where the Moon moves into the northern ecliptic hemisphere.
• anaclisisThe choice of an object of libidinal attachment on the basis of a resemblance to early childhood protective and parental figures.
• anacoenosisA rhetorical device by which a speaker appeals to their hearers or opponents for their opinion on the point or matter in debate.
• anagignoskomenaThe deuterocanonical books, those books present in the Septuagint but not in the Hebrew Bible.
• anaglyptaA thick, embossed wallpaper.
• anagrammatiseTo produce an anagram of; to transpose the letters of.
• anaktoronA palace that only hierophants were permitted to enter as part of the Eleusinian Mysteries.
• anandrousLacking stamens; devoid of the male part.
• anankasticImperative, as in the anankastic conditional.
• anankeNecessity beyond all supplications or sway. Conceived as the ultimate dictator of all fate and circumstances, to which even the gods must ultimately pay homage and deference.
• anantapodotonA rhetorical device in which a main clause is suggested by the introduction of a subordinate clause, but where the expression trails off.
• anaplerosisThe replenishment of a deficiency, or refilling of the space left by a destroyed part.
• anastalticstyptic
• anastasisa recovery from a debilitating condition, especially irradiation of human tissue
• anastropheUnusual word order, often involving an inversion of the usual pattern of the sentence.
• anatripsisThe use of friction or rubbing as therapy, a form of massage
• anaulacorhizeOf the root of a tooth, spongy; porous.
• Anaxaretea rich and beautiful maiden of Cyprus, who, disdaining the love of Iphis, was changed to stone.
• AndrocydesAndrocydes of Cyzicus, a Greek painter of the 4th century BCE.
• anepigraphA work with no (known) title; an anepigraphous work.
• AnicetusOne of the sons of Heracles and Hebe, his brother is Alexiares. Along with their father, Anicetus and Alexiares are the guardians and gatekeepers of the gates of Mount Olympus.
• anoiaExtreme mental deficiency.
• antagonyantagonism (opposition, contest)
• antanagogeAnswering the charge of an adversary by a countercharge.
• -anthflower
• AntheiaOne of the Charites worshipped in Athens.
• anthelionA faint, white halo rarely seen in the sky opposite the sun on the parhelic circle
• anthemionAn ornamental design consisting of palmettes or lotus flowers.
• Anthesteriaa Dionysian flower festival in ancient Athens
• anthippasiaA traditional cavalry display in Ancient Athens; in particular, a series of contests occurring later in the democratic period as a contest between tribal cavalry units at Athenian festivals such as the Olympieia and Panathenaea.
• AntichthonesThose peoples who inhabit the antipodes, regions on opposite sides of the Earth.
• AnticleaA queen of Ithaca, the wife of King Laërtes.
• AntilochusA prince of Pylos and one of the Achaeans in the Trojan War.
• antilogueof or pertaining to the magnetic pole that becomes negative as its temperature increases and positive as its temperature decreases
• antiminsA rectangular piece of linen or silk, usually decorated with religious emblems and inscriptions, and containing a small relic of a martyr.
• antisigmaAn unattested Claudian letter, possibly resembling Ↄ or ↃC.
• antodeA particular ode sung in response to another.
• aoidosAn Ancient Greek bard.
• AoniaAn ancient region of Greece: possibly Boeotia, or possibly the part of Boeotia containing the mountains Helicon and Cithaeron, and thus sacred to the Muses, whom Ovid calls the Aonides.
• apagogeAn indirect argument which proves a thing by showing the impossibility or absurdity of the contrary.
• apatheiaA state of mind in Stoic philosophy in which one is free from emotional disturbance; the freedom from all passions.
• ApaturiaAncient Greek festivals held annually by most of the Ionian towns, with banqueting, discussions, etc.
• AphthartodocetaeA sixth-century non-Chalcedonian sect who believed that Christ's body was always incorruptible and only perished by Christ's conscious willing decision.
• apocryphonSynonym of apocrypha.
• apodeipnonFinal part of the divine office in the Eastern Church.
• apodixisFull demonstration or showing; absolute and incontrovertible proof.
• apographA copy or transcript of a manuscript (called the antigraph).
• apo koinouA blend of two asyndetically connected clauses through a lexical word that has two syntactical functions, one in each of the blended clauses.
• apolysisThe separation of the cuticula from the epidermis in arthropods and related groups.
• apophanticInvolving a declaration, statement, or proposition.
• apophygeA curvature found on the top or bottom of certain columns.
• apotomeThe difference between two quantities or lengths commensurable only in power, as between 1 and the square root of 2, or between the diagonal and side of a square.
• apotropaicIntended to ward off evil.
• apotropaionSomething that wards off evil; an amulet or magic charm.
• apoxyomenosA conventional subject of ancient Greek votive sculpture: an athlete caught in the familiar act of scraping sweat and dust from his body with a strigil.
• apulosisthe formation of scar tissue as part of the healing process
• Archaeopolisan ancient city in Colchis
• archaizeTo give an archaic quality or character to; make archaic, to suggest the past.
• archegeteThe founder, progenitor, originator of a group, tradition, or institution.
• archegetesLeader or founder; an epithet of the god Apollo.
• archididascalosA school principal.
• archontiaAn archontate.
• AretasThe name of various kings of the Nabataeans
• ArginusaeThree islands off the Dikili Peninsula on the coast of modern-day Turkey, famous as the site of the Battle of Arginusae during the Peloponnesian War.
• AristaeusA minor god of rustic, rural arts such as beekeeping, herding and hunting.
• aristeiaA scene in epic poetry where the hero has his finest moments in battle.
• arithmo-numbers; arithmetic
• arrhenotokyThe production of male offspring by parthenogenesis.
• ArtemidesThe seven daughters of the Semitic goddess Astarte as mentioned by Eusebius (quoting Philo of Byblos) in the Praeparatio evangelica, understood as midwives, with their name echoing Artemis's role as a goddess of childbirth.
• arthroereisisThe support or propping up of a joint.
• aruraAn ancient measure of arable land, a square of 100 Egyptian cubits (mḥ) on each side.
• aryballosA small Ancient Greek flask used to hold perfume or oil.
• AsclepieionAn Ancient Greek healing temple dedicated to Asclepius.
• aspidocheloneA fabled sea creature according to the tradition of the Physiologus and medieval bestiaries, variously described as a large whale or vast sea turtle, and a giant sea monster with huge spines on the ridge of its back. It is often mistaken for an island, enticing unwitting sailors and drowning them.
• Assemblies of GodA Christian Pentecostal denomination made up of a number of autonomous groupings of churches in various countries.
• astragalomancyAny form of divination by dice.
• astyonymAny proper name by which a city is known.
• AstypalaiaAn island of the Dodecanese, Greece
• ataxyataxia
• AtéA goddess of mischief, delusion, ruin, and folly, the daughter either of Zeus or of Eris.