英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

avoidable (adj.)[avoidable 词源字典]: 1630s, from avoid + -able. Related: Avoidably.[avoidable etymology, avoidable origin, 英语词源]
avoidance (n.): late 14c., "action of emptying," from avoid + -ance. Sense of "action of dodging or shunning" is recorded from early 15c.; it also meant "action of making legally invalid," 1620s; "becoming vacant" (of an office, etc.), mid-15c.
avoirdupois (n.): 1650s, misspelling of Middle English avoir-de-peise (c. 1300), from Old French avoir de pois "goods of weight," from aveir "property, goods" (noun use of aveir "have") + peis "weight," from Latin pensum, neuter of pendere "to weigh" (see pendant (n.)). After late 15c., the standard system of weights used in England for all goods except precious metals, precious stones, and medicine.
Avon: river in southwestern England, from Celtic abona "river" (see afanc).
avouch (v.): late 15c., from Middle French avochier "call upon as authority," in Old French "call (to court), advocate, plead (a case)," from Latin advocare "call to" as a witness (see advocate).
Avouch, which is no longer in common use, means guarantee, solemnly aver, prove by assertion, maintain the truth or existence of, vouch for .... Avow means own publicly to, make no secret of, not shrink from admitting, acknowledge one's responsibility for .... Vouch is now common only in the phrase vouch for, which has taken the place of avouch in ordinary use, & means pledge one's word for .... [Fowler]
Related: Avouched; avouching.
avow (v.): early 13c., from Anglo-French avouer, Old French avoer "acknowledge, accept, recognize," especially as a protector (Modern French avouer), from Latin advocare (see advocate). A synonym of avouch (q.v.), which tends to contain the more technical, legal aspect of the word. Related: Avowed; avowing.
avowal (n.): 1727, from avow + -al (2).
avuncular (adj.): 1789, from Latin avunculus "maternal uncle," diminutive of avus (see uncle) + -ar. Used humorously for "of a pawnbroker" (uncle was slang for "pawnbroker" from c. 1600 through 19c.).
My only good suit is at present under the avuncular protection. ["Fraser's Magazine," 1832]
aw (interj.): expresion of mild disappointment, sympathy, etc., first recorded in this form by 1888.
AWACS (n.): 1966, initialism (acronym) for "Airborne Warning and Control Systems."
await (v.): mid-13c., awaiten, "to wait for," from Old North French awaitier (Old French agaitier) "to lie in wait for, watch, observe," from a- "to" (see ad-) + waitier "to watch" (see wait (v.)). Originally especially "wait for with hostile intent, wait to ambush or spy upon." Related: Awaited; awaiting.
awake (v.): a merger of two Middle English verbs: 1. awaken, from Old English awæcnan (earlier onwæcnan; strong, past tense awoc, past participle awacen) "to awake, arise, originate," from a "on" + wacan "to arise, become awake" (see wake (v.)); and 2. awakien, from Old English awacian (weak, past participle awacode) "to awaken, revive; arise; originate, spring from," from a "on" (see a (2)) + wacian "to be awake, remain awake, watch" (see watch (v.)).

Both originally were intransitive only; the transitive sense being expressed by Middle English awecchen (from Old English aweccan) until later Middle English. In Modern English, the tendency has been to restrict the strong past tense and past participle (awoke, awoken) to the original intransitive sense and the weak inflection (awakened) to the transitive, but this never has been complete (see wake (v.); also compare awaken).
awake (adj.): "not asleep," c. 1300, shortened from awaken, past participle of Old English awæcnan (see awaken).
awaken (v.): Old English awæcnan (intransitive), "to spring into being, arise, originate," also, less often, "to wake up;" earlier onwæcnan, from a- (1) "on" + wæcnan (see waken). Transitive meaning "to rouse from sleep" is recorded from 1510s; figurative sense of "to stir up, rouse to activity" is from c. 1600.

Originally strong declension (past tense awoc, past participle awacen), already in Old English it was confused with awake (v.) and a weak past tense awæcnede (modern awakened) emerged and has since become the accepted form, with awoke and awoken transferred to awake. Subtle shades of distinction determine the use of awake or awaken in modern English. Related: Awakening.
award (v.): late 14c., "decide after careful observation," from Anglo-French awarder, from Old North French eswarder (Old French esguarder) "decide, examine" (after careful consideration), from es- "out" (see ex-) + warder "to watch" (see ward (n.)). Related: Awarded; awarding.
award (n.): late 14c., "decision after consideration," from Anglo-French award, Old French esguard, from esguarder (see award (v.)). Meaning "something awarded" is first attested 1590s.
aware (adj.): late Old English gewær, from Proto-Germanic *ga-waraz (cognates: Old Saxon giwar, Middle Dutch gheware, Old High German giwar, German gewahr), from *ga-, intensive prefix, + waraz "wary, cautious" (see wary).
awareness (n.): 1828, from aware + -ness.
awash (adj.): 1825, originally nautical, "on the level of, flush with," from a- (1) "on" + wash (n.). Figurative use by 1912.
away (adv.): late Old English aweg, earlier on weg "on from this (that) place;" see a- (1) + way (n.). Colloquial use for "without delay" (fire away, also right away) is from earlier sense of "onward in time" (16c.). Intensive use (as in away back) is American English, first attested 1818.