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A-OK [A-OK 词源字典]: 1961, said to be an abbreviation of all (systems) OK; popularized in the jargon of U.S. astronauts. See OK.[A-OK etymology, A-OK origin, 英语词源]
A.A.: also AA, abbreviation of Alcoholics Anonymous, attested by 1941, American English. The group name was the title of a book published in 1938 by the founder, Bill W.
A.A.A.: also AAA, abbreviation of American Automobile Association, attested 1902, American English, the year the organization was founded.
A.D.: 1570s, from Latin Anno Domini "Year of the Lord." Put forth by Dionysius Exiguus in 527 or 533 C.E., but used at first only for Church business. Introduced in Italy in 7c., France (partially) in 8c. In England, first found in a charter of 680 C.E. Ordained for all ecclesiastical documents in England by the Council of Chelsea, July 27, 816.

The resistance to it in part might have come because Dionysius chose 754 A.U.C. as the birth year of Jesus, while many early Christians would have thought it was 750 A.U.C. (See John J. Bond, "Handy-Book of Rules and Tables for Verifying Dates With the Christian Era," 4th ed., London: George Bell & Sons, 1889.) A.C., for Anno Christi, also was common 17c.
a.k.a.: also aka, initialism (acronym) for also known as; attested in legal documents from at least 1936.
a.m.: in reference to hours, 1762, abbreviation of Latin ante meridiem "before noon."
A.M.: also AM, type of radio wave broadcast, 1921, abbreviation of amplitude modulation.
A.P.R.: also APR, abbreviation of annual percentage rate, attested from 1979, American English.
a.s.a.p.: also asap, pronounced either as a word or as four letters, 1955, from initial letters of phrase as soon as possible; originally U.S. Army jargon.
A.V.: abbreviation of Authorized Version (of the English Bible, 1611) attested from 1868.
aardvark (n.): 1833, from Afrikaans Dutch aardvark, literally "earth-pig" (the animal burrows), from aard "earth" (see earth) + vark "pig," cognate with Old High German farah (source of German Ferkel "young pig, sucking pig," a diminutive form), Old English fearh (see farrow).
Aaron: masc. proper name, in the Old Testament the brother of Moses, from Hebrew Aharon, probably of Egyptian origin. The Arabic form is Harun. Aaron's beard as a type of herb is from 1540s.
ab initio: c. 1600, Latin, literally "from the beginning," from ab "from" + oblique case of initium "entrance, beginning," related to verb inire "to go into, enter upon, begin" (see initial).
ab-: word-forming element meaning "away, from, from off, down;" from Latin ab-, ab "off, away from," cognate with Greek apo "away from, from," Sanskrit apa "away from," Gothic af, Old English of, from PIE root *apo- (see apo-). Reduced to a- before -m-, -p-, or -v-; sometimes abs- before -c- or -t-.
aback (adv.): c. 1200, from Old English on bæc "at or on the back;" see back (n.). Now surviving mainly in taken aback, originally a nautical expression in reference to a vessel's square sails when a sudden change of wind flattens them back against the masts and stops the forward motion of the ship (1754). The figurative sense is first recorded 1840.
abacus (n.): late 14c., "sand table for drawing, calculating, etc.," from Latin abacus, from Greek abax (genitive abakos) "counting table," from Hebrew abaq "dust," from root a-b-q "to fly off." Originally a drawing board covered with dust or sand that could be written on to do mathematical equations. Specific reference to a counting frame is 17c. or later.
Abaddon: late 14c., used in Rev. ix:11 of "the angel of the bottomless pit," and by Milton of the pit itself, from Hebrew Abhaddon "destruction," from abhadh "he perished." The Greek form was Apollyon.
abaft (adv.): "in or at the back part of a ship" (opposed to forward), 1590s, from Middle English on baft (Old English on bæftan) "backwards." The second component is itself a compound of be "by" (see by) and æftan "aft" (see aft). The word has been saved by the sailors (the stern being the "after" part of a vessel), the rest of the language having left it in Middle English.
abalienate (v.): 1550s, from Latin abalienatus, past participle of abalienare "to remove, literally "to make alien," from ab- (see ab-) + alienare (see alienate). Related: Abalienated; abalienating.
abalienation (n.): 1650s, from Latin abalienationem (nominative abalienatio), noun of action from past participle stem of abalienare (see abalienate).