air (n.2) Look up air at

air (n.3) Look up air at
air conditioner (n.) Look up air conditioner at
from air (n.1) + agent noun from condition; along with air-conditioning, first attested 1909, originally an industrial process; main modern use in residences and office buildings is from 1930s.
air force (n.) Look up air force at
air freshener (n.) Look up air freshener at
air mail (n.) Look up air mail at
also air-mail, 1913, from air (n.1) + mail (n.1).
air raid (n.) Look up air raid at
airborne (adj.) Look up airborne at
1640s, "carried through the air," from air (n.1) + borne. Of military units, from 1937.
aircraft (n.) Look up aircraft at
Airedale Look up Airedale at
type of terrier, 1880, named for Airedale, a district in West Riding, Yorkshire.
Name registered by Kennel Club (1886), for earlier Bingley (where first bred), or broken-haired terrier. [Weekley]
airfoil (n.) Look up airfoil at
1922, U.S. form of aerofoil.
airhead (n.) Look up airhead at
"empty-headed person," 1972, from air (n.1) + head (n.). Earlier as a term in mining (mid-19c.) and as a military term based on beachhead (1950).
airily (adv.) Look up airily at
1766, from airy "with ostentatious air" (see air (n.2)) + -ly (2).
airing (n.) Look up airing at
"action of exposing to air," c. 1600, from present participle of air (v.). Meaning "display, public exposure is from 1870.
airlift (n.) Look up airlift at
also air-lift, 1893 as a type of pumping device; 1945 in the sense "transportation of supplies by air," from air (n.1) + lift (n.). As a verb by 1949; popularized in reference to the response to the West Berlin blockade. Related: Air-lifted; air-lifting.
airline (n.) Look up airline at
also air-line, 1813, "beeline, straight line between two points on the earth's surface" (as through the air, rather than over terrain; from 1853 and in later 19c. especially in reference to railways that ran directly between big cities in the U.S. instead of meandering from town to town in search of stock subscriptions as early railways typically did), from air (n.1) + line (n.). Meaning "public aircraft transportation company" is from 1914.
airplane (n.) Look up airplane at
1907, from air (n.1) + plane (n.1); though the original references are British, the word caught on in American English, where it largely superseded earlier aeroplane (1873 in this sense and still common in British English). Aircraft "airplane" also is from 1907. Lord Byron, speculatively, used air-vessel (1822).
airplay (n.) Look up airplay at
1950 in radio sense, from air (n.1) + play.
airport (n.) Look up airport at
1919, from air (n.1) + port (n.1). First reference is to Bader Field, outside Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S., which opened in 1910.
airship (n.) Look up airship at
airtight (adj.) Look up airtight at
airy (adj.) Look up airy at
aisle (n.) Look up aisle at

ajar Look up ajar at
1718, perhaps from Scottish dialectal a char "slightly open," earlier on char (early 16c.), from Middle English char, from Old English cier "a turn."
Ajax Look up Ajax at
akimbo Look up akimbo at
akin (adj.) Look up akin at
1550s, from phrase of kin; see kin.
Akita Look up Akita at
type of dog, named for a prefecture in northern Japan.
Akkadian Look up Akkadian at
1855, from Akkad (Sumerian Agde, Biblical Acca), name of city founded by Sargon I in northern Babylonia, which is of unknown origin; applied by modern scholars to the east Semitic language spoken there (c. 2300-2100 B.C.E.) and preserved in cuneiform inscriptions.
al dente Look up al dente at
1935, Italian, literally "to the tooth," from Latin dent (see tooth).
al fresco (adv.) Look up al fresco at
al Qaeda Look up al Qaeda at
al Qaida Look up al Qaida at
Alabama Look up Alabama at
alabaster (n.) Look up alabaster at
alabastrine (adj.) Look up alabastrine at
alack Look up alack at
late 15c., from ah, lack, from lack in Middle English sense of "loss, failure, reproach, shame." Originally an expression of dissatisfaction, later of regret or unpleasant surprise.
alacrity (n.) Look up alacrity at
mid-15c., from Latin alacritatem (nominative alacritas) "liveliness, ardor, eagerness," from alacer (genitive alacris) "cheerful, brisk, lively;" which is of uncertain origin, perhaps cognate with Gothic aljan "zeal," Old English ellen "courage, zeal, strength," Old High German ellian.
Aladdin Look up Aladdin at
name of a hero in stories from the Arabian Nights, from Arabic Ala' al Din, literally "nobility of faith."
Alamo Look up Alamo at

Alan Look up Alan at
masc. proper name, 1066, from Old Breton Alan, name of a popular Welsh and Breton saint; brought to England by the large contingent of Bretons who fought alongside William the Conqueror.
alar (adj.) Look up alar at
"wing-like," c. 1840; "of or pertaining to wings," 1847, from Latin alaris, from ala "wing, armpit, wing of an army" (source of Spanish ala, French aile), from *axla, originally "joint of the wing or arm;" from PIE *aks- (see axis).
Alaric Look up Alaric at
Visigothic masc. proper name, literally "all-ruler," from Proto-Germanic *ala- "all" (see all) + *rikja "rule" (see rich).
alarm (n.) Look up alarm at
alarm (v.) Look up alarm at
alarmed (adj.) Look up alarmed at
"disturbed by prospects of peril," 1640s, past participle adjective from alarm (v.).
alarmingly (adv.) Look up alarmingly at
alarmist (n.) Look up alarmist at
"one addicted to sounding alarms," 1793, from alarm (n.) + -ist.
alarum (n.) Look up alarum at
obsolete and poetic spelling of alarm (n.).
alas Look up alas at