awhile (adv.) Look up awhile at Dictionary.com
Old English ane hwile "(for) a while" (see while (n.)); usually written as one word since 13c.
spat (n.1) Look up spat at Dictionary.com
"petty quarrel," 1804, American English, of unknown origin; perhaps somehow imitative (compare spat "smack, slap," attested from 1823).
Spandex (n.) Look up Spandex at Dictionary.com
synthetic fiber, 1959, American English, proprietary name, an arbitrary formation from expand + commercial suffix -ex.
stent (n.) Look up stent at Dictionary.com
"tube implanted temporarily," 1964, named for Charles T. Stent (1807-1885), English dentist.
sitz-bath (n.) Look up sitz-bath at Dictionary.com
1849, a hybrid, from German Sitzbad, literally "bath in a sitting position," with English bath for German Bad.
smack (n.4) Look up smack at Dictionary.com
"heroin," 1942, American English slang, probably an alteration of schmeck "a drug," especially heroin (1932), from Yiddish schmeck "a sniff."
souter (n.) Look up souter at Dictionary.com
"maker or mender of shoes," Old English sutere, from Latin sutor "shoemaker," from suere "to sew, stitch" (see sew).
thereafter (adv.) Look up thereafter at Dictionary.com
Old English þær æfter; see there + after. Similar formation in Dutch daarachter, Swedish derefter.
thereof (adv.) Look up thereof at Dictionary.com
"of that, of it," Old English þærof; see there + of. Similar formation in Swedish, Danish deraf.
thereon (adv.) Look up thereon at Dictionary.com
Old English þæron; see there + on. Similar formation in German daran.
thereunder (adv.) Look up thereunder at Dictionary.com
Old English þærunder; see there + under. Similar formation in Old Frisian therunder, German darunter.
throughout (prep.) Look up throughout at Dictionary.com
late Old English þurhut; see through + out (adv.). Similar formation in German durchaus.
tighten (v.) Look up tighten at Dictionary.com
"to make tight," 1727; the earlier verb was simply tight, from Old English tyhtan, from the root of tight. Related: Tightened; tightening.
told Look up told at Dictionary.com
past tense and past participle of tell (v.), from Old English tealde, past tense of tellan.
took Look up took at Dictionary.com
past tense of take (v.), from late Old English toc, past tense of tacan.
wrong (n.) Look up wrong at Dictionary.com
"that which is improper or unjust," late Old English, from wrong (adj.). Meaning "an unjust action" is recorded from c. 1200.
colour Look up colour at Dictionary.com
chiefly British English spelling of color (q.v.); for ending see -or. Related: Coloured; colouring; colourful; colours.
honour Look up honour at Dictionary.com
chiefly British English spelling of honor; also see -or. Related: Honoured; honouring; honours.
humour Look up humour at Dictionary.com
chiefly British English spelling of humor; see -or. Related: Humourous; humourously; humourist; humourless, etc.
favour Look up favour at Dictionary.com
chiefly British English spelling of favor (q.v.); for spelling, see -or. Related: Favourite; favouritism.
within (adv., prep.) Look up within at Dictionary.com
Old English wiðinnan "within, from within," literally "against the inside," see with + in.
tchotchke (n.) Look up tchotchke at Dictionary.com
"trinket, gewgaw," also (transferred) "pretty girl," 1964, American English, from Yiddish, from a Slavic source (compare Russian tsatska).
wreathe (v.) Look up wreathe at Dictionary.com
1520s (transitive), a back-formation from wrethen, Middle English past participle of writhe. Intransitive sense from 1580s. Related: Wreathed; wreathing.
walkabout (n.) Look up walkabout at Dictionary.com
"periodic migration by a westernized Aboriginal into the bush," 1828, Australian English, from walk (v.) + about.
yclept Look up yclept at Dictionary.com
Old English gicliopad; from y- + past participle of cleopian, cpipian "to speak, call; summon, invoke; implore" (see clepe).
upchuck (v.) Look up upchuck at Dictionary.com
"to vomit," by 1960, American English slang, from up (adv.) + chuck (v.) "to throw."
twister (n.) Look up twister at Dictionary.com
late 15c., "one who spins thread," agent noun from twist (v.). Meaning "tornado" is attested from 1881, American English.
underclassman (n.) Look up underclassman at Dictionary.com
"sophomore or freshman," 1869, American English, from under (adj.) + class (n.) in the school form sense + man (n.).
understanding (n.) Look up understanding at Dictionary.com
Old English understanding "comprehension," verbal noun from understand (v.). Meaning "mutual agreement" is attested from 1803.
underling (n.) Look up underling at Dictionary.com
late Old English, "one who owes allegiance to a sovereign or ruler," from under + diminutive suffix -ling.
unfasten (v.) Look up unfasten at Dictionary.com
early 13c., from un- (2) "opposite of" + fasten. Old English had unfæstnian "to unfasten." Related: Unfastened; unfastening.
untie (v.) Look up untie at Dictionary.com
Old English untigan "loosen, unchain," from un- (2) "opposite of" + tie (v.). Related: Untied; untying.
savour Look up savour at Dictionary.com
chiefly British English spelling of savor (q.v.); for spelling, see -or. Related: Savoured; savouring.
ach (interj.) Look up ach at Dictionary.com
aspirated form of ah; in English often used to represent German or Celtic speech.
advantageous (adj.) Look up advantageous at Dictionary.com
1590s, formed in English from advantage, or else from French avantageux (15c.), from avantage (see advantage). Related: Advantageously; advantageousness.
anywise (adv.) Look up anywise at Dictionary.com
Old English ænige wisan, from any + wise (n.). One-word form from c. 1200.
ascendance (n.) Look up ascendance at Dictionary.com
1742, from ascend + -ance. Properly "the act of ascending," but used from the start in English as a synonym of ascendancy.
amortise (v.) Look up amortise at Dictionary.com
chiefly British English spelling of amortize; for suffix, see -ize. Related: Amortised; amortising.
clamour Look up clamour at Dictionary.com
chiefly British English spelling of clamor (q.v.); for spelling, see -or. Related: Clamoured; clamouring; clamourous.
A.A.A. Look up A.A.A. at Dictionary.com
also AAA, abbreviation of American Automobile Association, attested 1902, American English, the year the organization was founded.
apologise (v.) Look up apologise at Dictionary.com
chiefly British English spelling of apologize; for suffix, see -ize. Related: Apologised; apologising.
recognise (v.) Look up recognise at Dictionary.com
chiefly British English spelling of recognize; for spelling, see -ize. Related: Recognised; recognising; recognisance.
emphasise (v.) Look up emphasise at Dictionary.com
chiefly British English spelling of emphasize; for spelling, see -ize. Related: Emphasised; emphasising.
empathise (v.) Look up empathise at Dictionary.com
chiefly British English spelling of empathize; for suffix, see -ize. Related: Empathised; empathising.
realise (v.) Look up realise at Dictionary.com
chiefly British English spelling of realize; for suffix, see -ize. Related: Realisation; realised; realising.
anticyclone (n.) Look up anticyclone at Dictionary.com
1863, coined by Francis Galton (1822-1911), English polymath, explorer, and meteorologist, from anti- + cyclone. Related: Anticyclonic.
still (n.1) Look up still at Dictionary.com
"distilling apparatus," 1530s, from Middle English stillen "to distill" (c. 1300), a variant of distillen (see distill).
swollen (adj.) Look up swollen at Dictionary.com
early 14c., past participle adjective from strong conjugation of swell (v.); from Old English geswollen, past participle of swellan.
shay (n.) Look up shay at Dictionary.com
1717, back-formation from chaise (q.v.), wrangled into English and mistaken for a plural.
sliver (n.) Look up sliver at Dictionary.com
"splinter of wood," late 14c., from obsolete verb sliven "to split, cleave," from Old English toslifan "to split, cleave" (see sleave).