a, the first letter

Word Origins

Dedicated to finding real origins of words in several languages
Edition 4

able

Origin
Indian Tamil balam ‘strength’

Mechanism
a + Indian Tamil balam = English able

above

Origin
Indian Hindi/Urdu oopar ‘on top of’, ‘higher’,’above’

The Transition
English over derives from Indian Hindi/Urdu oopar .
Thus ab + over (from oopar) = English above.

above board
open, without any concealment

Origin
See above

above ground

Origin
See above

above mentioned

Origin
See above

abp
abbreviation for archbishop 'head bishop'

Origins
Indian Tamil arachan 'king'
English bishop 'supervisor of local churches'


Mechanism
Indian Tamil arachan + English bishop = English archbishop

Abraham
First patriarch mentioned in the Bible
Founder of Hebrew nation

Origins
Indian God Brahma “Creator God’

Intermediate
Indian Urdu/Arabic Ibrahim
Ancestor of Arab people

Abraham's bosom
heaven

Origin
See Abraham

Abram
Ancient name of Abraham

Origins
See Abraham

absent
missing, not in place

Origins
Latin prefix ab 'away', 'off'
Indian Sanskrit stha 'remain'

Mechanism
Latin ab + Indian Sanskrit stha = English absent

absentee vote
Vote by mail due to being away from your polling station

Origins
English absent (see absent for its origins)
Indian Tamil vayndu 'want'

Mechanism
One Indian Tamil consonant has both d and t sounds.
So Indian Tamil vayndu can be pronounced as vayntu.
Thus Indian Tamil vayntu becomes English want and vote (cast your ballot for person or issue you want)

Thus English absent + Indian Tamil vayntu = English absentee vote

absentminded

Origins
English absent (see absent for its origins)
Indian Tamil manam 'mind'
Indian Sanskrit manas 'mind'

Mechanism
Thus English absent + Indian manam/manas = English absentminded

absentmindedness

Origin
See absentminded

See our previous edition
http://wordorigins.wordpress.com/2006/12/22/hello-world/


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See our other articles and books

http://www.geocities.com/kmguru2000/Ignorance.doc
OPOL: http://www.authorsonline.co.uk/viewbook.php?bid=419
Roots: http://www.authorsonline.co.uk/viewbook.php?bid=510