Word origins

• athanasiaA female given name from Ancient Greek.
• AthenaeusA male given name
• Atiliusa Roman nomen gentilicium
• -atimChanges a component into an adverb meaning "by that component."
• atomusSynonym of atom.
• -atoryForms adjectives of, relating to, or connected with the thing specified
• atramentariousLike ink; suitable for making ink.
• atramentousSynonym of inky, black, inklike.
• AtreidaeCollectively, the family and descendants of the mythical Mycenaean king Atreus, including either of his sons Menelaus and Agamemnon, who both feature in the Iliad.
• AtropateneSynonym of Atropatian
• atroxaseAn endopeptidase enzyme, found in the venom of the diamondback rattlesnake Crotalus atrox, that catalyzes the cleavage of His⁵-Leu, Ser⁹-His, His¹⁰-Leu, Ala¹⁴-Leu and Tyr¹⁶-Leu of insulin B chain.
• attachiamenta de spinis et boscisAn ancient privilege granted to forest officers to take for their own any thorns, brushwood, and windfalls within their own precincts.
• attagenA grey partridge (Perdix perdix) of Eurasia.
• AttaliaAn ancient city in modern Turkey; modern Antalya.
• attemperatetempered; proportioned; properly adapted.
• Attempto Controlled EnglishA subset of English with restricted syntax and semantics described by a small set of formal rules, suitable for knowledge representation and specification or as a query language.
• attingeTo touch lightly.
• attingenceThe property of being attingent; adjacency.
• attingenttouching; adjacent
• attritTo wear down through attrition, especially mechanical attrition.
• attriteRegretful of one's wrongdoing merely due to fear of punishment.
• AugeasA king of Elis, best known for his stables, the Augean stables.
• auguralprophetic
• augurateThe position or office of an augur.
• aulicOf or pertaining to a royal court; courtly.
• aureityThe particular property peculiar to gold; goldenness.
• auricomousHaving golden hair; yellow-haired.
• aurigalOf or pertaining to a chariot.
• AusonianOf ancient Ausonia or the Ausonians.
• australoneA prenylflavonoid found in Morus australis.
• AustrasiaAn early-medieval geographic region corresponding to the homeland of the Merovingian Franks in modern western Germany, northeastern France, Belgium and parts of the Netherlands. Capital: Metz.
• aversantTurned to show the back: said of a hand (or gauntlet).
• aversioApostrophe.
• avi-bird
• avocateTo call off or away; to withdraw; to transfer to another tribunal.
• avolateTo escape; to dissipate into the air.
• avolationEvaporation; dissipation into the air.
• axiomaAn axiom.
• axis mundiThe axis of Earth between the celestial poles, important in ancient geocentric coordinate systems.
• AzaliA tribe of Pannonia
• AzetiumA former town in Apulia, of uncertain site, probably Rutigliano
• AzotusAshdod
• BabylonicPertaining to Babylon, or made there.
• bacchantA priest of Bacchus.
• baculeA rod-like element on the surface of some pollen.
• BaeticOf or relating to a region of southern Spain, the mountain range that dominates it, and the language spoken there.
• BaiaeAn ancient resort town on the Bay of Naples, in Italy
• baianOf or relating to Michael Baius or his school of thought, Baianism.
• balatronA buffoon; one who speaks a lot of nonsense and is characterized by self-indulgence.
• balbutiesstammering
• baldmoneyMeum athamanticum, an ornamental plant in the Apiaceae family.
• ballistariusA crossbowman.
• balnearyA room for bathing.
• balteusThe girdle of a biblical Jewish priest.
• bannumSynonym of ban (“gathering for war; mulct or penalty”).
• barbatebearded; having long thin hairs
• barbuleA small barb or beard.
• barytoneNot having an accent on the last syllable.
• basaniteA basaltic extrusive rock, similar to chert.
• BasilidesA male given name of historical usage
• BathonianA subdivision of the Jurassic period.
• bdelliumAn aromatic gum-like balsam extracted from one of several species of tree in the genus Commiphora.
• beatificateTo beatify.
• BebrycesAn ancient tribe of Asia Minor
• BebryciaThe land of the Bebryces in Anatolia, later known as Bithynia.
• BebryxA king of the Bebryces, father of Pyrene.
• bellipotentMighty in war.
• belluineOf, characteristic of, or pertaining to beasts; animal, bestial; brutal.
• benediciteA canticle, the Latin version of which begins with the word benedīcite (“praise ye!”), which may be used in the order for morning prayer in Roman Catholic and Anglican churches.
• benefactiveOf or pertaining to the linguistic form or case or the semantic role of the beneficiary of an action. Expressed in English as "on behalf of", "in behalf of", "on one's behalf", or similar.
• benefactureAn act of doing good; benefaction, beneficence.
• beneficiumSynonym of benefice.
• bi-Two in number.
• Biblia pauperumA medieval Bible consisting of mainly pictures rather than text.
• bibulousVery absorbent.
• bicolourHaving two colours
• bicornA two-cornered hat, worn by European and American military and naval officers from the 1790s.
• bidentalHaving only two teeth.
• bifidateBifid, divided into two main parts.
• bigateBearing the figure of a bigae (pair of horses).
• bilinguisDouble-tongued, deceiving.
• bilobolAn alkylresorcinol and strong skin irritant found in Gingko biloba fruits.
• binateDouble; growing in pairs or couples.
• binominalConsisting of two names.
• bipennisAn axe with an edge or blade on each side of the handle.
• biplicityThe state of being twice folded; reduplication.
• bipunctuma neume denoting either a single tone, either elongated or rearticulated.
• birotulaA microsclere that has a straight shaft and umbrella-shaped ends
• bis dat qui cito datSomething (e.g., payment, assistance, etc.) given promptly is much more valuable than if given after considerable delay.
• BistonA member of the Bistons or Bistones
• BistoniaSynonym of Thrace
• biviumOne side of an echinoderm, including a pair of ambulacra, in distinction from the opposite side (trivium), which includes three ambulacra.
• blandimentBlandishment; flattery.
• boerhavinoneAny of a group of rotenoids present in spiderlings of the genus Boerhavia.
• boleteA type of fruiting body produced by certain fungus species in the order Boletales, especially those of genus Boletus, many of which are prized for their flavour; any species of said order that produces such a fruiting body.
• bombaxAny member of the genus Bombax of tropical trees in the mallow family.
• bona fideIn good faith; genuinely, sincerely.
• bonassusA bonnacon.
• BoötesA circumpolar constellation of the northern sky, called the “bear-guard” or the “herdsman”. It includes the fourth-brightest star in the night sky, Arcturus.
• BorysthenesThe Dnieper, the Dnipro.