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3343 entries found
awhirl (adv.)
"whirling," 1837, from a- (1) + whirl (v.).
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awing (n.)
"action of inspiring with awe," 1650s, verbal noun from awe (v.).
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awk (adj.)
mid-15c., "turned the wrong way," from Old Norse afugr "turned backwards, wrong, contrary," from Proto-Germanic *afug- (source also of Old Saxon aboh, Old High German apuh, Middle Dutch avesch, Dutch aafsch), from PIE *apu-ko-, from root *apo- "off, away." Obsolete since 17c.
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awkward (adv., adj.)
mid-14c. (adv.), "in the wrong direction," from awk "back-handed" + adverbial suffix -weard (see -ward). The original sense is obsolete. As an adjective, "turned the wrong way," 1510s. Meaning "clumsy, wanting ease and grace in movement" recorded by 1520s. Of persons, the meaning "embarrassed, ill-at-ease" is from 1713s. Related: Awkwardly. Other 15c.-17c. formations from awk, none of them surviving, were awky, awkly, awkness.
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awkwardness (n.)
1704, "lack of grace, inelegance," from awkward + -ness. Meaning "physical clumsiness" is attested from 1770; that of "social embarrassment" by 1788.
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awl (n.)
"pointed instrument for piercing small holes in leather, wood, etc.," Old English æl "awl, piercer," from Proto-Germanic *ælo (source also of Old Norse alr, Dutch aal, Middle Low German al, Old High German äla, German Ahle), which is of uncertain origin.

Earliest references are to piercing of the ears, though later it was the characteristic tool of a shoemaker. Through misdivision, frequently written 15c.-17c. as nawl (for an awl; see N). Old French alesne, French alêne, Italian lesina, Old Spanish alesna, Spanish lesna are from Germanic.
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awn (n.)
"bristly fibers on grain of plants," c. 1300, from Old Norse ögn, from Proto-Germanic *agano (source also of Old English egenu, Old High German agana, German Ahne, Gothic ahana), from PIE *ak-ona- (source also of Sanskrit asani- "arrowhead," Greek akhne "husk of wheat," Latin acus "chaff," Lithuanian akuotas "beard, awn"); suffixed form of root *ak- "be sharp, rise (out) to a point, pierce."
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awning (n.)
"movable roof-like covering of canvas for a window, etc., as a protection from the sun's rays," 1624, origin uncertain (first recorded use is by Capt. John Smith), perhaps from Middle French auvans, plural of auvent "a sloping roof," "itself of doubtful etym[ology]" (OED). A nautical term only until sense of "cover for windows or porch" emerged 1852.
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awoke 
past tense of awake (v.), from Old English awoc; also see awaken. The tendency has been to restrict the strong past tense (awoke) to the original intransitive sense of awake and the weak inflection (awakened) to the transitive, but this never has been complete.
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awoken 
past participle of awake (v.); also see awaken. The tendency has been to restrict the strong past participle (awoken) to the original intransitive sense of awake and the weak inflection (awakened) to the transitive, but this never has been complete.
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